FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bangladesh: Politicians

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations against the arrest of opposition leader Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We are aware that following her recent arrest, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been formally charged with extortion by police in Dhaka, and that she remains in detention in a "sub-jail". The case is now within the judicial system of Bangladesh. We trust that, consistent with Bangladesh's international human rights obligations, legal proceedings against Sheikh Hasina will respect the full range of her human rights.

Burma: Human Rights

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has examined on Burma's human rights record; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We receive regular reports about human rights abuses in Burma, including the statement issued on 29 June by the International Committee of the Red Cross drawing attention to the Burmese regime's persistent violations of international humanitarian law.
	We agree that the human rights situation in Burma remains grave. Serious abuses continue to be committed, particularly in areas of armed conflict. The Burmese people do not enjoy the most basic of human rights, including the right to the freedom of speech and association, democracy, good governance and the rule of law.
	We continue to work with our European and international partners, as well as through the UN and International Labour Organisation, to press the regime to end the human rights violations and to engage in a genuine process of national reconciliation involving all relevant parties and groups in Burma. On 27 July my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Meg Munn), discussed the situation with UN Special Adviser Ibrahim Gambari, within the context of the UN Secretary-General's good offices mandate on Burma.
	We take every opportunity to raise human rights issues with the regime and remind them of their obligations to adhere to international human rights law, most recently when our ambassador in Rangoon met the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister and the Ministers of Planning and Health on 12-13 June.

Departments: Press

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent by his Department on newspapers and magazines in the last 12 months.

Jim Murphy: The total amount spent on publications for the last financial year, ending March 2007, was £1,410,027.68. This covers expenditure on newspapers, magazines and journals and also includes expenditure on press cuttings. Although it is not possible to identify the expenditure on newspapers and magazines alone without incurring disproportionate cost, the amount spent on publications has fallen significantly over the past 10 years. In the financial years 1997-2001 the average yearly spend on publications was £2,327,661.

Departments: Redundancy Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent by his Department on redundancy payments in the last 12 months.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office did not make any compulsory redundancy payments in the last 12 months. It is our policy to do all we can to avoid compulsory redundancies.

Departments: Taxis

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent by his Department on taxis in the last 12 months.

Jim Murphy: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has two contracts with taxi/minicab firms to provide a 24-hour taxi service for staff in London, and to provide a taxi service between Milton Keynes and Hanslope Park, and taxi services for Hanslope Park-based staff for airport journeys.
	The out of hours use of the London taxi contract is primarily for those staff called out for emergency work in the crisis centre or other 'on call' operational activities.
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.
	The amount spent on taxis for financial year 2006-07 is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Hanslope Park taxi contract 161,708.19 
			 London taxi contract 443,372.48

Ethiopia: Human Rights

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Ethiopian government on the imprisonment of Professor Mesfin Woldermariam.

Kim Howells: We have made numerous representations to the Government of Ethiopia over the imprisonment of all opposition political leaders, including Mesfin Woldermariam, including at ministerial level and with EU partners. We urged the Ethiopian government to ensure that the trial for those detained was swift, transparent and fair, and that their individual human rights were respected.
	I am delighted that Mesfin Woldermariam was one of those pardoned by the President of Ethiopia and released on 20 July.

Israel: Asylum

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made on behalf of the Eritrean refugees residing in Israel's Al Ramleh Detention Centre who are threatened with expulsion.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has made no such representations. As long as Israel acts within its obligations under international refugee law, this matter is for the Israeli Government.

Israel: Asylum

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations on behalf of the Eritrean refugees threatened with forcible return from Khartoum.

Kim Howells: We have no plans to make representations to the Government of Sudan on behalf of the Eritrean refugees threatened with forcible return from Khartoum.
	However, we want refugees to be afforded protection and treated equitably in their countries of refuge according to International Human Rights law. We work towards this objective through our substantial support to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Lebanon: Peace Keeping Operations

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received from the UN monitoring mission in Lebanon on the extent of  (a) military incursions into Israel from the Lebanese side of the Lebanon/Israel border,  (b) military manoeuvres by Hezbollah or other armed groups along Lebanon's border with Israel and  (c) Hezbollah or other Lebanese military activity in the Sheba'a Farms area in the last six months.

Kim Howells: The UN Secretary-General reports to the Security Council on a quarterly basis on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701. The last two reports, produced in March and June, cover the period of the last six months. The UK continues to support full implementation of UNSCR 1701.
	These reports describe several incidents along the Blue Line separating Israel and Lebanon. On 17 June several Katuysha Rockets were fired from Lebanon towards northern Israel, in violation of UNSCR 1701. Two of these rockets landed in the Israeli town of Kiryat Shemona. It is not known who was responsible for this attack.
	The Secretary-General's reports also note the activities of militant groups in south Lebanon. Most significantly six Spanish soldiers serving with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were killed by a roadside bomb on 24 June. It is not known who was responsible for this attack. The Secretary-General's report also confirms that there is no evidence of Hezbollah military activity in the UNIFIL area of operations.
	We have received no reports from the UN of Hezbollah or Lebanese army activity in the Sheba'a Farms in the last six months.
	I have arranged for copies of both of the most recent Secretary-General's reports on UNSCR 1701 to be placed in the Library of the House.

Lebanon: Peace Keeping Operations

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received from the UN monitoring mission in Lebanon on the extent of  (a) Israeli military overflights across Lebanon's border with Israel,  (b) other Israeli military manoeuvres along the Lebanon/Israel border and  (c) Israeli military activity in the Sheba'a Farms area in the last six months.

Kim Howells: The UN Secretary-General reports to the Security Council on a quarterly basis on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701. The last two reports, produced in March and June, cover the period of the last six months. The UK continues to support full implementation of UNSCR 1701 and is working with the Governments of Lebanon and Israel towards this.
	In these reports the Secretary-General reported that Israel has continued regular overflights of Lebanese territory with both manned and unmanned aircraft. The number of these overflights reduced in early 2007, but has risen again recently. These flights occur on an almost daily basis with up to 32 overflights occurring on some days.
	The Secretary-General also reported several breaches of the Blue Line that separates Israel and Lebanon. The most serious of these occurred in February when Israeli and Lebanese forces exchanged fire across the Blue Line during an Israeli incursion into Lebanon. Another incursion occurred on 28 May when Israeli vehicles also moved 60 metres into Lebanon. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claim that this incursion was unintentional. Nevertheless there has been some progress on co-operation between the IDF, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon and the Lebanese army through the tripartite mechanism. This co-operation is aimed at minimising breaches of the Blue Line.
	The reports do not record in detail instances of IDF activity in the Sheba'a farms area. The IDF did arrest some hunters who had strayed into this area, although they were subsequently released.
	I have arranged for copies of the both of the most recent Secretary-General's reports on UNSCR 1701 to be placed in the Library of the House.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made with the non-proliferation proposals made by his predecessor to the Carnegie International Conference in Washington DC on 25 June.

Kim Howells: The Government are committed to making farther progress on the non-proliferation proposals set out by my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary (Margaret Beckett) in her speech in Washington on 25 June. Over the past two months British diplomatic missions have brought these proposals to the attention of a wide range of senior contacts and opinion-formers inside and outside government around the world and encouraged media coverage. Planning and preparatory work on a practical delivery strategy through to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 2010 Review Conference is being taken forward by officials.
	My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Meg Munn) spoke on these issues in the House on 24 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 196-201WH.

Russia: Extradition

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many  (a) Russian nationals and  (b) Russian born citizens given British nationality, resident in the United Kingdom, are currently subject to requests for extradition by the Russian Federation; and what responses have been given in each case.

Meg Hillier: I have been asked to reply.
	As a matter of longstanding policy and practice the UK will neither confirm nor deny the existence of any extradition request made or received by this country ahead of arrest pursuant to the extradition request.
	Two Russian citizens have been arrested whose extradition has been requested by the Russian Federation and their cases are currently under consideration. Neither of the subjects of the requests has British citizenship. Because the applications are under consideration, no responses have yet been given.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implementation of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement security protocols.

Meg Munn: We welcome the stability brought by the East Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA) of 14 October 2006 between the Government of Sudan and the Eastern Front. We urge both sides to speed up implementation to ensure lasting peace and security in eastern Sudan.
	Although some of the deadlines in Appendix A of the ESP A have been missed, implementation is now progressing. The Government of Sudan has appointed Eastern Front representatives as Assistant to the President, Presidential Adviser and Minister of State, who should take up their positions shortly. In June 2006, eight government members of the National Parliament resigned to make way for the Eastern Front Members of Parliament. Eastern Front representatives have also been appointed to state government.
	The State of Emergency in eastern Sudan has been lifted and the cease-fire holds. About 3,500 Eritrea-based Eastern Front troops have returned to eastern Sudan since June and registration to integrate 1,200-1,500 Eastern Front troops into the Sudanese armed forces and police is well under way. The UN Development Programme is working closely on this with the Government of Sudan on the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of all other Eastern Front troops.
	The UK provides funding to the National Multi Donor Trust Fund for Sudan, which funds development activities in eastern Sudan, one of the poorest parts of the country.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departments: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of people employed by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies are disabled.

Shahid Malik: Declaration of a disability is voluntary.
	At the end of June 2007 there were 1,772 Home Civil Service staff employed in DFID. Of these 52 have declared a disability. This represents 2.9 per cent. of the total. Information on disability is published in DFID's Annual Diversity Report 2006-07.
	DFID is responsible for 21 appointments to two non departmental public bodies: the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and the Crown Agents Holding and Realisation Board. None of the appointees consider themselves to have a disability.

Departments: Dismissal

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1246W, on departments: dismissal, what the reasons were for the summary dismissal of the three members of staff without allegations of misconduct or written warnings; and what procedures were followed in those dismissals.

Gareth Thomas: All three dismissals were on the grounds of poor performance, following the DFID performance appraisal process at that time and in line with the terms of their contracts. In all cases, DFID sought legal advice before the decision to dismiss.
	Since 1 October 2004, all our employees are governed by the statutory dismissal, discipline and grievance procedures introduced under the Employment Act (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004.

Departments: Flint Bishop Solicitors

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have made payments to Flint Bishop Solicitors since 1997.

Gareth Thomas: Since 1997, DFID has no record of having made any payments to Flint Bishop Solicitors.

Departments: Flowers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department on flowers in the last 12 months.

Gareth Thomas: Occasionally DFID may incur expenditure on flowers as part of our fees for a conference or event however we cannot disaggregate these costs from total spend without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departments: Ministerial Red Boxes

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many ministerial red boxes the Department bought in each of the last five years; what the cost of each was; who the suppliers were; and what tendering process was used in selecting them.

Shahid Malik: Ministerial boxes are used by successive Ministers over many years. Information requested by the hon. Member is available for the year 2006. Two ministerial boxes were purchased directly from Barrow and Gale in 2006. There is no current long term contract in place.
	Details of costs are as follows:
	
		
			   2006 
			 Number of ministerial boxes 2 
			 Total cost £1,346.55

Departments: Press

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department on newspapers and magazines in the last 12 months.

Gareth Thomas: During the period July 2006 to July 2007 DFID recorded spend of £64,367 on newspapers and magazines. This includes the costs of subscriptions centrally funded in our Headquarters offices. Within DFID, individual departments and overseas offices may on occasion subscribe to relevant publications. To identify all non-centrally funded costs within our current systems would incur disproportionate cost.

Departments: Publications

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department's departmental magazine, Developments, is distributed in biodegradable packaging .

Gareth Thomas: The current stocks of 'polybags' used for posting out individual copies of Developments magazine are not biodegradable. These polybags are ordered in bulk and, at the time of ordering, a biodegradable alternative was ruled out due to high cost and short shelf-life.
	The current stock will be used until it runs out and is expected to cover the next one and a half mailings. The next order of 'polybags' will be made with a new supplier who can provide a suitable biodegradable alternative. These will be used to complete the mailing of Developments magazine due out at the end of this year and for all subsequent issues.

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department on staff away days in the last 12 months.

Shahid Malik: Individual departments within DFID plan and manage development away days and team building exercises for their staff in accordance with their specific needs in the context of business planning, continual professional development and performance improvement. Costs are usually met through delegated divisional or departmental training budgets.
	DFID does not separately record its expenditure on staff away days, and therefore is unable to provide the breakdown requested without incurring disproportionate costs.

Mr. Howard Horsley

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations his Department received from Mr. Howard Horsley, former Education Field Office Manager in Ghana, before his dismissal in January 2000 on corruption and misconduct.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's records show that Mr. Horsley made representations on attempted corruption in a letter of 7 July 1999. Separately, but within the same letter, he raised unrelated concerns on the conduct of a colleague. He later made further non corruption related representations calling for that colleague to be the subject of a disciplinary investigation in correspondence on 14 October and 12 November 1999.
	DFID maintained a dialogue with Mr. Horsley throughout the period he was employed in Ghana. In the years since his dismissal Mr. Horsley has put forward a series of concerns which have been reviewed by DFID and independently by Cabinet Secretaries and the National Audit Office. All parties across Whitehall have been satisfied that DFID acted correctly in relation to Mr. Horsley's dismissal and found no evidence of financial impropriety and DFID's position has been upheld.

Republic of Congo: Oil

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the management of oil revenues by public officials in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville);
	(2)  what representations he has received on the management of oil revenues in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville);
	(3)  what representations he has received on the involvement of Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso in the management of oil revenues in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville);
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the extent of corruption within the Congolese (Brazzaville) oil sector;
	(5)  what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the International Monetary Fund,  (b) his counterparts at the EU and  (c) the government of the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) about management of oil revenues.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has not made its own assessments of the management of oil revenues or the extent of corruption within the oil sector. It relies on the assessment of the IMF and World Bank, for reasons of efficiency and the avoidance of duplication. Their latest assessment of progress in improving oil sector governance and reducing corruption indicates progress on increasing transparency has been slow. The World Bank is providing technical assistance to ensure that there are no capacity constraints preventing the Congolese authorities from implementing the necessary transparency reforms.
	The UK discusses governance issues and the need for increased transparency in the oil sector with the Congolese government in conjunction with European partners and through the World Bank and IMF. The IMF missions to Brazzaville (October 2006 and May 2007) met with the President, Prime Minister, Planning and Finance Ministers, Central Bank Director and other senior officials, representatives of the donor community and civil society. We continue to urge for greater political support for improvements in accountability, and have argued strongly that oil revenue windfalls should be directed to activities which support poverty reduction.
	DFID has not received any recent representations on the management of oil revenues in the Republic of Congo, nor of Mr. Sassou-Nguesso's involvement.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Post Offices: Closures

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will publish the names of the 2,500 post offices likely to be closed under the closure programme.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	On 17 May my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced the Government's response to public consultation on the Post Office network.
	Now that the Government have announced their decisions it will be for Post Office Ltd. to strategically develop the network through 50 to 60 local area implementation plans over the next 18 months.
	Following initial input from sub-postmasters, Postwatch and local authorities these plans will include closure proposals which will then be put to local consultations ahead of final decisions.

Stuffed Shirt Company: Insolvency

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will set up an inquiry into the accounts of the Stuffed Shirt Company following its liquidation.

Patrick McFadden: The only company that has been registered at Companies House with the name The Stuffed Shirt Company Limited was placed in creditors' voluntary liquidation in 1998. In 2001 the company was dissolved which means that it lies outside the scope of the investigation powers exercised by my Department's Companies Investigations Branch. If the hon. Member is referring to a more recent company, I would invite him to write to me so that I can consider his request more fully.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Depleted Uranium: Iraq

Nick Harvey: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the Government are  (a) conducting and  (b) contributing to studies into the effects of depleted uranium ammunition on the population of Iraq as referred to in the answer of 20 October 2004,  Official Report, column 714W.

Derek Twigg: I have been asked to reply.
	Research into the effects of depleted uranium (DU) specifically on the population of Iraq is primarily the responsibility of the Government of Iraq. However, the scientific literature already contains a substantial number of reports which indicate that DU has not had, and is very unlikely to have, any significant impact on the population.
	As announced in the House on 20 July 2005,  Official Report, column 1755W, and 23 January 2006,  Official Report, column 1713W, we will provide help and advice to assist the Government of Iraq and other authorities such as the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) in any further research they may undertake. MOD has provided information on its use of DU munitions and on its monitoring in Iraq in 2003. MOD officials attended a UNEP seminar at which DU matters, including environmental monitoring and sampling techniques, were discussed with Iraqi scientists. More recently, MOD provided Iraqi scientists with protective equipment to carry out DU contamination surveys and with information on the composition of the DU used in UK munitions.

Olympic Games: Firearms

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what representations she has received from the International Shooting Sport Federation on the ability of Woolwich to accommodate the Olympic shooting events; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: Representations about venues will be received by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).
	The Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich was agreed as the venue for shooting events after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave feedback on the accessibility, athlete experience and proximity to the Olympic park on the venue portfolio submitted by London 2012 as an applicant city in 2004. The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) supported the choice of venue.
	Woolwich was chosen as it offers a venue close to the Olympic park and provides good accessibility.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many spectators are expected to be able  (a) to walk the course and  (b) to spectate at the equestrian events in Greenwich Park at the 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 23 July 2007
	The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is responsible for each of the 2012 games venues during games time. As part of their preparation, they are currently developing detailed 'overlay' plans for each venue.
	The Candidate File identifies capacity at Greenwich park as 23,000 for the main arena. LOCOG have now appointed a course designer and further detailed work is being undertaken to identify the optimum layout of Greenwich park as a whole, and the siting of the arena and competition courses. This work also takes into consideration health and safety, security, operational requirements and the ecology of Greenwich Park. Until this work is complete, exact spectator numbers, including people walking the course, cannot be given.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister for the Olympics pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 1292-93W, on the Olympic games: Greater London, whether civil servants in her Department compiled the information given by KPMG at the cost review group meetings into a report or presentation document.

Tessa Jowell: Departmental officials took the minutes of the cost review group meetings. However, they did not compile the information given by KPMG at these meetings into a report or presentation document.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister for the Olympics pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1292W, on the Olympic games: Greater London, in what form the cost review group presented to her Department the savings it identified in different areas of the budget.

Tessa Jowell: The cost review group presented the savings they identified in the form of oral presentation and updates to financial estimates.
	The savings identified were incorporated into the Olympic park masterplan announced on 7 June 2006, and continuing work on the development of the funding package which I announced to the House on 15 March.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister for the Olympics pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1292W, on the Olympic games: Greater London, on what date the cost review reached its conclusions.

Tessa Jowell: The cost review culminated in the statement I made to the House on 15 March 2007.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister for the Olympics pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2007,  Official Report, column 43W, on the Olympic games: Greater London, who the other members of the team within the then Interim Olympic Delivery Authority were.

Tessa Jowell: In October 2005 the Department commissioned KPMG to provide advice on the cost of the Olympic games.
	KPMG also provided advice under contract to the then interim Olympic Delivery Authority and later the Olympic Delivery Authority. KPMG provided advice on venues in partnership with Davis Langdon LLP, and on infrastructure in partnership with Faithful and Gould. Further details are set out in paragraphs 40-41 of the National Audit Office's report 'The budget for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games' published on 20 July 2007.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

British Film Institute: National Film Theatre

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his policy is on the future of the  (a) British Film Institute and  (b) National Film Theatre; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The British Film Institute will continue to support and enhance film culture and education across the UK. In 2007-08, they will receive £16 million of grant in aid funding. Since 1998, they have received £162 million.
	The recently redeveloped BFI Southbank, which houses the National Film Theatre, is a focal point for this work. It provides a platform for the BFI to show a diverse range of films to a wide audience; to offer pioneering access to the BFI National Archive; and to engage new audiences with an expanded programme of education and learning.

Buckingham Palace: Repairs and Maintenance

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the exterior of Buckingham Palace is due to be cleaned; if the Government will ensure such work has priority over work to other royal premises; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport provides the Royal Household with an annual £15 million grant for property maintenance of the Occupied Royal Palaces in England. It is the responsibility of the Royal Household to decide how these funds are allocated.

Buckingham Palace: Repairs and Maintenance

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent requests have been received from the Royal Household for refurbishment or building work to Royal premises; and what such work has been agreed to.

Margaret Hodge: The Department has not received any specific requests from the Royal Household for refurbishment or building work to Royal premises, as the Royal Household are responsible for prioritising projects and deciding how the annual £15 million grant is allocated.

Departments: Air Conditioning

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by his Department and its agencies on the hire of mobile air conditioning units in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Royal Parks Agency have not incurred any expenditure on the hire of mobile air conditioning units in the last five years.

Departments: Aviation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by his Department on  (a) first class and  (b) business class flights in the last 12 months.

James Purnell: The departmental expenditure on first class flights was £65,404 and £201,110 for business class flights in the last financial year as recorded by the Department's contracted travel agent. This amount excludes occasional travel booked directly which can be identified only at disproportionate cost.
	Regarding Ministers' visits overseas, since 1999 the Government have published, on an annual basis, a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500, as well as the total cost of all ministerial travel overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the libraries of the House. Information for 2006-07 was published on 25 July 2007.
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code, the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers.

Departments: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of people employed by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies are disabled.

Margaret Hodge: DCMS is a very small Department with 527 staff. As a Department we do monitor across the equality strands and 3 per cent. of staff have declared a disability.
	DCMS's agency Royal Parks Agency employ just fewer than 100 staff, with 1 per cent. of their staff having declared a disability.
	DCMS is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all and as a Department we endeavour to offer employment appointments to disabled people. In recognition of this, we have been accredited with the "Positive About Disabled People—Two Ticks Symbol" following an assessment made by Jobcentre Plus.
	As part of our on-going commitment, we ensure that we monitor and evaluate our recruitment and retention procedures, by consulting staff on a range of disability issues, and by ensuring reasonable adjustments to our working environment are made.

Departments: Flowers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by his Department on flowers in the last 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: In the 12 months up to 26 July 2007 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport spent £4,675 on flowers.

Departments: Legislation

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which pieces of legislation enacted in each of the last 10 years for which his Department is responsible have yet to be brought into force.

Margaret Hodge: All of the Acts introduced by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in the last 10 years have been brought into force. However, not all of the enactments contained in those Acts have been brought into force. These are as follows:
	The Communications Act 2003—sections 272 to 275 ("must offer" obligations affecting public service television) and sections 299 to 302 (sporting and other events of national interest).
	The Licensing Act 2003—two consequential amendments in schedule 6—paragraphs 98 and 99(c), which by reason of the drafting do not achieve the intended effect.
	The Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Act 2004—various enactments are not in force mainly relating to the sale of the Tote and the Horserace Betting Levy system.
	The Gambling Act 2005—a substantial number of the enactments have been brought into force and the intention is to bring into force the vast majority of the remaining provisions on 1 September 2007.
	The National Lottery Act 2006—section 5 which concerns annual fees and some provisions relating to the Channel Islands.
	The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006—sections 13 to 16 which relate to the regulation of transport during the games and section 39(1) and paragraph 13 of schedule 3 which amend legislation repealed since the passing of the Act.

Departments: Legislation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years contained sunset clauses; and what plans he has for the future use of such clauses.

Margaret Hodge: Section 180 of the Gambling Act 2005 is a sunset clause and provides that the section which concerns pool betting on dog races shall cease to have effect on 31 December 2012.
	Sections 10 to 18 of the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006 will cease to have effect at the end of the "London Olympic period", that is after the fifth day after the closing ceremony of the Paralympic games 2012. Those sections relate to transport, and among other things, they provide for the making and implementation of the Olympic Transport Plan. Section 33 and schedule 4 of the same Act will cease to have effect after 31 December 2012. Those provisions create the London Olympics and Paralympics association rights—intellectual property rights that prevent unauthorised associations with the London games.
	The appropriateness of a sunset clause for the whole or part of any proposed legislation is considered on a case-by-case basis. It is also addressed when a regulatory impact assessment relating to legislation is being prepared.

Departments: Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people have been appointed to his Department outside civil service grades in the last 30 days.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not appointed anyone outside civil service grades in the last 30 days.

Departments: Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many press officers are employed by his Department.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport employs 13 press officers.

Departments: Pay

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many bonuses were awarded to senior civil servants working at her Department and its agencies in each year between 1997 and 2006; and what the total cost of those bonuses was.

Margaret Hodge: Such information as is available is shown in the following table and includes the percentage of the total pay bill for each year:
	
		
			   Number of bonuses  Total cost  (£)  Percentage  of total pay bill 
			 2003-04 28 79,372 0.42 
			 2004-05 27 81,950 0.41 
			 2005-06 37 122,816 0.55 
			 2006-07 27 139,750 0.59 
		
	
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its agency the Royal Parks makes bonus payments to its staff for two purposes:  (a) special bonuses to reward outstanding contributions in particularly demanding tasks or situations, and  (b) performance bonuses to reward highly successful performance over a whole year.

Departments: Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in his Department in the last three years; and at what total cost.

Margaret Hodge: The Department makes bonus payments to its staff for two purposes:
	(a) special bonuses to reward outstanding contributions in particularly demanding tasks or situations; and
	(b) performance bonuses to reward highly successful performance over a whole year.
	The table shows the total of all bonuses paid and the percentage of the overall pay bill that these amounts represent.
	
		
			   Number of bonuses paid  Total bonus cost (£)  Percentage of total pay bill 
			 2003-04 215 206,643 0.90 
			 2004-05 172 215,285 0.94 
			 2005-06 240 347,241 1.29

Departments: Press

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by his Department on newspapers and magazines in the last 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport spent £57,531 on newspapers and magazines in the last 12 months.

Departments: Press

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to which periodicals his Department subscribes.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport subscribes to the following periodicals:
	 A-N magazine
	 Accountancy
	 AI: Arts Industry
	 AJ specification
	 AJ the architects' journal
	 Antiques trade gazette
	 Apollo: the international magazine of the arts
	 Architectural review
	 Ariel
	 Art antiquity and law
	 Art loss review
	 Art monthly
	 Art newspaper: international edition
	 Art Quarterly
	 Art Review
	 Arts professional
	 Arts research digest
	 Athletics weekly
	 Attractions management
	 Audience: for the international contemporary live music industry
	 Billboard
	 Blueprint
	 Bookseller
	 British archaeology
	 The British art journal
	 British journal of photography
	 Broadcast
	 Building design
	 Building
	 Burlington magazine
	 The Business
	 Cable and satellite Europe
	 Campaign
	 Caterer and hotelkeeper
	 Champs-Elysees (French language magazine and audio CD)
	 The channel
	 Children now
	 Cinema business
	 Civic focus
	 Club mirror
	 Coaching at work
	 Coin slot international
	 Complaints report/Press Complaints Commission
	 Conservation Bulletin
	 Construction news
	 Contemporary visual arts
	 Cordis Focus
	 Country life
	 Countryside focus: the newspaper for the Countryside Agency
	 Crafts: the decorative and applied arts magazine
	 Creative review
	 Cultural trends
	 Current archaeology
	 Current world archaeology
	 Drapers
	 Eastern eye
	 The econometrics journal
	 The economic journal: the journal of the Royal
	 The Economist
	 EIPASCOPE bulletin
	 Emergency services times.
	 Employment law bulletin
	 En passant
	 Equal opportunities review
	 European voice: an independent view of the Union
	 External funding bulletin
	 Forbes
	 Frieze
	 Gaming law review
	 Georgian Group journal
	 The Georgian: the magazine of the Georgian Group
	 Gig
	 Government computing
	 Green futures: the magazine of Forum for the Future
	 Hackney gazette
	 The hospitality review
	 Hotel report
	 The House magazine
	 House of Commons weekly information bulletin
	 Icon
	 IGWB: International gaming and wagering business magazine
	 Information world review
	 Inside housing
	 Insights
	 International gambling studies
	 International journal of arts management
	 International journal of cultural property
	 International journal of nautical archaeology
	 Interpretation: journal of the Association for Heritage
	 Investors chronicle
	 IRS employment review
	 Jazz UK
	 JC: Jewish chronicle
	 Journal of cultural economics
	 Journal of gambling studies
	 Journal of sports economics
	 Judicial review
	 La Fleur's magazine
	 Leisure management
	 Leisure opportunities
	 LGC: local government chronicle
	 Literacy today
	 LGE: local government executive
	 Local government first
	 Local transport today
	 Mailout
	 Managing information
	 Marketing week
	 MCV: the magazine for the interactive entertainment
	 Media week
	 The MJ: the management journal for local authority business
	 Mojo
	 Morning advertiser
	 Museum practice
	 Museums journal
	 Music Teacher
	 Music week
	 The National Trust magazine
	 New law journal
	 New media age
	 New media markets
	 New nation
	 New statesman
	 Newham recorder
	 OAG executive flight guide: Europe, Africa, Middle East
	 OAG flight guide supplement: worldwide
	 OAG rail guide
	 Parliamentary monitor
	 Planning (incorporating Planning week)
	 Portfolio
	 PR week
	 Press gazette
	 Printmaking today
	 Private eye
	 Prospect
	 Public finance
	 Public law
	 Public servant
	 The Publican newspaper
	 Public
	 Quarterly building price and cost indices: public sector construction works
	 Radio magazine
	 Radio times
	 Regeneration and renewal
	 Revolution
	 RFID journal
	 School sport
	 SCONUL focus
	 Screen digest
	 Screen finance
	 Screen international
	 The searcher
	 Sight and sound
	 The Spectator
	 Sport business international: the international magazine for the business of sport
	 The Stage
	 The Stationery Office (TSO) weekly list
	 Tate: the art magazine
	 TBI Television Business International
	 Television
	 TES: the Times educational supplement
	 Theatres: the magazine of the Theatres Trust
	 Third sector
	 Time out
	 The Times higher education supplement
	 TJ: training journal
	 Travel GBI
	 Travel weekly
	 Treasure hunting
	 Tribune
	 TTG UK (Travel trade gazette UK)
	 TV international: newsletter of the worldwide television, cable and satellite industry
	 TV sports markets
	 UK Youth
	 VAN briefing: the voice of the voluntary arts
	 VAN update: the voice of the voluntary arts
	 Variety
	 The Victorian
	 Vogue
	 The voice
	 The Week: all you need to know about everything that
	 The weekly law reports
	 What satellite and digital TV
	 When Saturday conies
	 Which?
	 Whitehall and Westminster world
	 Wired
	 World online gambling law report
	 Yorkshire Post

Departments: Recruitment

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department paid in fees to recruitment agencies for  (a) temporary and  (b) permanent staff in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has paid the following amounts to recruitment agencies in each year since 1997:
	
		
			  £ 
			   For temporary staff  For permanent staff 
			 1997-98 276,618.91 — 
			 1998-99 482,465.39 — 
			 1999-2000 456,230.03 — 
			 2000-01 386,498.94 — 
			 2001-02 409,743.71 — 
			 2002-03 512,869.85 — 
			 2003-04 451,750.43 — 
			 2004-05 496,585.32 — 
			 2005-06 1,147,515.64 25,525.51 
			 2006-07 1,671,993.81 222,865.61 
		
	
	The amounts paid to agencies for temporary staff are inclusive of their service charges and the salary costs of the staff supplied.
	The significant increase in the level of fees paid to agencies in the last two years is largely attributed to the need to bring in additional resources quickly to staff up the Department's team working on the Olympics 2012 programme following London's successful bid. Now that permanent staff have been recruited or transferred into the team, agencies fees are expected to fall back to levels paid previously in the years prior to 2005-06.

Departments: Redundancy Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by his Department on redundancy payments in the last 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has spent £100,475 in the last 12 months on redundancy payments.

Departments: Taxis

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by his Department on taxis in the last 12 months.

James Purnell: All official travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules contained in the Department's staff handbook, and consistent with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code. For the financial year 2006-07 £33,907.44 is the recorded spend on taxi fares. It represents expenditure on taxis provided by the Department's contract agent, black cabs and taxis in London and elsewhere.

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by his Department on staff away days in the last 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: No separate record is held of the amount spent on staff away days in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in the last 12 months. The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by his Department on  (a) staff and  (b) communication training in the last 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: In the Department for Culture, Media and Sport we spent £601,689 on staff training during the last 12 months. We are unable to provide information on communications training as we do not categories information on spend in a way which would enable us to identify expenditure on communications training.

Departments: Tribunals

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by his Department on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not spent anything on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

Flags: Local Authorities

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance has been given to local authorities to encourage them to fly the Union flag from municipal buildings.

Margaret Hodge: Local authorities are already able to fly the Union flag on a daily basis from municipal buildings; it is a matter for them to decide. However, as some choose to follow Government guidance, we have updated the flag flying section of the DCMS website (www.culture.gov.uk/flagflying) and informed the Local Government Association. This follows the announcement by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport allowing all UK Government Departments to have the freedom to fly the Union flag when they wish while the Department carry out a consultation on altering the flag flying guidance.

Hotels: Cornwall

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many hotels there are in Cornwall; and how many there were in 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Statistics on the number of hotels by region are not collected centrally.
	South West Tourism's figures show that there were 354 hotels in Cornwall in 1998—the nearest year to 1997 for which for figures are available. However, there were 1,316 businesses classified as serviced visitor accommodation. Businesses are so defined when they provide food and other services to their guests. As such, the total of 1,316 includes guest houses and bed and breakfasts, but excludes self-catering establishments and holiday parks. South West Tourism defined a "hotel" as a business which offers certain services to guests (including a restaurant offering full meals) which are not offered by guest houses and similar establishments.
	There were 290 hotels in Cornwall in 2006 out of a total of 1,190 serviced visitor accommodation businesses, deferred on the same basis.

Museums and Galleries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 July 2007,  Official Report, column 479W, on museums and galleries: West Midlands, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Renaissance funding within the context of the comprehensive spending review in  (a) the West Midlands and  (b) England; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: Future funding for the Renaissance in the Regions Programme and all other departmental expenditure is under consideration in the context of the comprehensive spending review.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1178W, on the Olympic Games, if she will place in the Library copies of the  (a) agenda and  (b) minutes of each meeting of the cost review group on the dates listed.

Tessa Jowell: I have been asked to reply 
	as Minister for the Olympics.
	Agendas were drawn up for two of the meetings on the dates listed in my previous response and I am arranging for these to be placed in the House Library.
	The meeting scheduled for 9 March 2006 did not take place. The minutes for the other meetings will not be placed in the House Library as they are being used to inform the development of our ongoing policy for managing the Olympic project.

Tourism: Yorkshire and Humberside

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was granted to the Yorkshire Tourism Board in each year since 1996.

Margaret Hodge: The regional development agency for Yorkshire and the Humber, Yorkshire Forward, provided the Yorkshire Tourist Board with approximately £3 million per annum between 2005-06 and 2007-08.
	In addition, Yorkshire Forward has provided the York Tourism Bureau with financial support through the York and North Yorkshire sub-regional investment plan process. This equates to a one third share of £2 million for the period up to 2008-09.
	For the figures for previous years, I refer my hon. Friend to the answers given to him on 21 October 2004,  Official Report, column 823W, and 5 April 2005,  Official Report, column 1328W, by my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Central (Mr. Caborn).

VisitBritain: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much grant in aid VisitBritain received in each year since 1997 at current prices; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The annual grant in aid paid by DCMS to VisitBritain at current prices was as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1997-98 44.7 
			 1998-99 45.7 
			 1999-2000 47.8 
			 2000-01 48.0 
			 2001-02 45.1 
			 2002-03 47.1 
			 2003-04 47.9 
			 2004-05 48.4 
			 2005-06 49.05 
			 2006-07 50.05 
			 2007-08 (projected) 50.05

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peace Keeping Operations

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of  (a) impact and  (b) effectiveness of the use of thermobaric weapons by British forces in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The term "thermobaric" has no agreed definition and is not used by the MOD. As with all military deployments, we keep our force levels and equipment requirements in Afghanistan under constant review.

Afghanistan: Peace Keeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent assessment is of the capability of the Taliban and insurgency forces in Helmand Province.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 July 2007,  Official Report, column 17, to the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones).

Afghanistan: Peace Keeping Operations

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effects on Lynx helicopters of high air temperatures in Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my predecessor on 26 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1353W.

Air Force: Horses

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by the Royal Air Force on purchasing, maintaining and transporting horses and ponies for polo in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Derek Twigg: The Royal Air Force has not spent any funds on purchasing or, maintaining horses and ponies for polo in the last 12 months. However, service personnel are entitled to payment from public funds for towing a horse box containing their own horses and ponies for authorised official fixtures in accordance with Tri Service Regulations for Allowances. Information on costs relating to such activities is not separately identifiable.

Alison Croft

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he has taken in response to each of the recommendations of the Board of Inquiry into the Death of Private Alison Croft in October 2002; and what further measures he plans to undertake following the comments of HM Coroner at the conclusion of the inquest into her death on 17 July.

Derek Twigg: The Board of Inquiry into the death of Private Croft made nine recommendations to reduce the likelihood of such an incident occurring in the future, namely:
	better communication between key personnel in the welfare chain and guidance on when to break the "in confidence" barrier;
	provide continuous medical cover at Dalton Barracks to replace ad hoc services;
	employment of a military Practice Manager, if a doctor cannot work on a full time basis;
	increase the minimum number of padres employed at Dalton Barracks to two;
	provide better guidance and training on At Risk Registers;
	"flagging" personnel joining units from Phase 1 and 2 training with significant medical histories to the medical and military chain of command;
	issue regular guidance to units on dealing with harassment, bullying or intimidation;
	improve induction procedures to ensure new arrivals have clear understanding of welfare support available to them;
	provide better training on the prevention of suicide at unit and sub unit level.
	All the recommendations have been implemented.
	The Ministry of Defence always gives careful consideration to the comments made by the Coroner following the conclusion of an Inquest involving Service personnel. In the case of Private Croft, the Coroner did not make any specific comments on further action required.

Armed Forces: Defence Equipment

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that 16 Air Assault Brigade is issued with the equipment which it needs  (a) for training purposes and  (b) to fulfil engagements; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: Our priority is to ensure that the armed forces are well-equipped for operations and operational commanders may request additional equipment through the chain of command at any time.
	Outside operations, priority is given to equipping units for pre-Deployment Training. Other training and activities are given lower priority. In some cases the training requirement will exceed the number of items available at a given point in time. These shortfalls in equipment are addressed by the implementation of a range of measures, including the acceleration of the deep maintenance programme and the transfer of equipment between units, to ensure that the priority needs, such as pre-deployment training are met.

Armed Forces: Doctors

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what mechanisms are in place to ensure the professional conduct of doctors serving with the military in examining military prisoners; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: I have assumed that the Member is referring to "military prisoners" in the widest sense, i.e. all persons detained by the UK armed forces, rather than simply Service personnel detained in the Military Corrective Training Centre at Colchester or by their unit. The same principles apply to medical examinations regardless of the specific status and location of the detainee.
	Military doctors charged with the medical care of prisoners and detainees are required to follow MOD policy directives based on medical ethics as advised by the General Medical Council, UK law and, where relevant, United Nations declarations and international law, including the Geneva Conventions. Initial military training courses for Service doctors cover the medical support to be provided to persons detained by UK forces whilst deployed on operations.
	Any failure to comply can result in various sanctions depending upon the nature of the offence, ranging from internal disciplinary measures to investigation by the GMC or criminal prosecution.
	We review our policy and training in this area when appropriate.

Armed Forces: Explosives

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether requests have been made by troops in the field for enhanced blast devices.

Bob Ainsworth: For reasons of operational security I will not disclose whether there have or have not been requests for specific capabilities. All requirements are kept under constant review. We regularly receive and action requests for a wide range of equipment capabilities from operational theatres. Some of these we can address through existing resources; other emerging requirements are met through the urgent operational requirement process.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what average time a military patient spends on each stage of the patient cure pathway.

Bob Ainsworth: Every patient is treated on an individual basis. The phrase "patient care pathway" is used by Defence Medical Services to refer to the totality of treatment any injured or sick individual receives, from point of injury or presenting for treatment to discharge from medical care and will clearly vary enormously depending on the injury or illness. Some ailments will be treated almost immediately, while others, such as a serious wounding, can take many months before the patient is fully recovered or an operational medical outcome is achieved. Any attempt to provide an "average" time spent on the "care pathway" would be meaningless.

Armed Forces: Housing

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service family accommodation properties in  (a) Cyprus,  (b) Gibraltar and  (c) Germany are at standard (i) 1, (ii) 2, (iii) 3 and (iv) 4.

Derek Twigg: Service Families Accommodation (SFA) in Cyprus, Gibraltar and Germany is assessed by Grade for Charge rather than Standard for Condition.
	Grade for charge is broken down by amenities and location with Grade 1 close to all amenities. Standard for Condition relates to the physical condition of the property.
	The total number of SFA by Grade is as follows:
	
		
			   Grade 1  Grade 2  Grade 3  Grade 4  Total 
			 Cyprus 286 345 134 1,427 2,192 
			 Gibraltar 107 32 82 280 501 
			 Germany 2,101 5,376 4,707 982 13,166

Armed Forces: Housing

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many single living accommodation properties for service personnel in  (a) Cyprus,  (b) Gibraltar and  (c) Germany are of standard (i) 1, (ii) 2, (iii) 3 and (iv) 4.

Derek Twigg: Single Living Accommodation (SLA) in Cyprus and Gibraltar and Germany is assessed by Grade for Charge rather than Standard for Condition.
	Grade for charge is broken down by amenities and location with Grade 1 close to all amenities. Standard for Condition relates to the physical condition of the property.
	As at April 2007, the total number of SLA in each location at each grade is as follows:
	
		
			   Grade 1  Grade 2  Grade 3  Grade 4  Total 
			 Cyprus 60 0 423 2,789 3,272 
			 Gibraltar 6 90 0 462 558 
			 Germany 1,643 1,307 3,445 9,751 16,146 
		
	
	For SLA in Cyprus proposed improvements programme will provide 650 bed spaces after 2008. The remaining SLA in Cyprus is transit accommodation for operational deployments.
	111 bed spaces are to be upgraded in Gibraltar.
	Germany SLA, 374 bed spaces are to be upgraded.

Armed Forces: Housing

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many eviction orders were served on occupants of service married quarters in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: Records for eviction orders are only available from November 2000.
	Applications for eviction orders in England and Wales, are shown as follows.
	
		
			   Number of eviction orders 
			 2000 (from November) 11 
			 2001 143 
			 2002 105 
			 2003 76 
			 2004 110 
			 2005 102 
			 2006 62 
			 2007 (to 16 July) 45 
		
	
	Service personnel who lose their entitlement to Service Families Accommodation (SFA) can be served eviction orders and are included in these figures. Personnel can lose entitlement due to leaving the services or following a breakdown of the marriage. Few eviction orders actually lead to the occupant having to be forcibly evicted from their SFA.
	Records of evictions from Scotland, Northern Ireland and overseas SFA are not held centrally and will take time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reports were made of faulty cookers in service families accommodation in each year since 2005; and what the  (a) average and  (b) longest time taken to make repairs to such cookers was in each year.

Derek Twigg: This information is not held centrally and therefore could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the  (a) average and  (b) longest time taken between ordering and installing made to order parts for boilers in Service Families and Single Living Accommodation was in each year since 2005;
	(2)  how much was spent on  (a) the purchase of made to order parts for boilers in Service Families and Single Living Accommodation and  (b) the installation of made to order parts for such boilers in each year since 2005.

Derek Twigg: This information is not held centrally and therefore could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Housing

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of providing housing for members of the Army in the latest period for which figures are available, broken down by rank.

Derek Twigg: Service Families Accommodation in Great Britain is provided on a Tri-Service basis and it is not possible to identify costs relating solely to the Army or to provide a breakdown by rank. Of the £81 million spent on service housing in 2006-07, it is estimated that about 50 per cent. would relate to Army personnel.

Armed Forces: Training

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of negotiations with the Metrix Consortium on Package 2 for the Defence Training Review.

Derek Twigg: In January this year the Metrix Consortium were declared the Preferred Bidder for Package 1 of the DTR Programme, but in view of significant remaining affordability challenges, only provisional Preferred Bidder for Package 2. Since then we have been exploring with the Bidder possible synergies and economies of scale across the whole programme.
	Significant work has been completed, but has not yet been concluded. Once it is, I expect to make a statement later this year.

Armed Forces: Training

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training British military personnel receive in the handling of detainees taken on operations.

Des Browne: All members of Her Majesty's armed forces must comply with the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), including in the handling and treatment of detainees. The United Kingdom is required by international law to ensure that instruction on LOAC is included in training programmes for the armed forces.
	Instruction on LOAC takes place during Phase 1 and Phase 2 training for all Service personnel. Thereafter, Service personnel receive further training at a level and frequency appropriate for their rank, responsibility and force readiness status.
	Mandatory LOAC training is included in pre-deployment training for all Service personnel. In addition, Service personnel who deploy receive a presentation on theatre-specific guidance and instruction as part on their initial orientation package and a subsequent practical test.
	For those units who have been detailed to provide a guard service at the Divisional Internment Facility in Iraq, additional specialist training is provided by staff from the Military Corrective Training Centre and HQ Provost Marshall (Army).

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on the Future Rapid Effects System project.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 10 July 2007
	 : The Assessment Phase of the Future Rapid Effect System programme was approved in April 2004. Expenditure on this phase up to 31 March 2007 was £101 million (including value added tax).
	This covers the Technology Demonstrator Programmes, which examined candidate technologies (see following table). Additionally it covers the cost of the supporting programme of analysis and technical expertise provided by the Atkins Defence in the Systems House role and Defence Science and Technology Laboratories. It also covers the cost of specialist support to the MOD.
	A total of nine TDP contracts have been placed. They are:
	
		
			   Title  Contractor 
			 1 Stowage and Capacity Dstl 
			 2 Hard Kill Defensive Aid System Akers Krutbruk 
			 3 Chassis Concept TDP (AHED) General Dynamics UK Ltd. 
			 4 Chassis Concept TDP2 (SEP) BAES Land Systems 
			 5 Electronic Architecture TDP 1 Lockheed Martin UK Ltd. 
			 6 Electronic Architecture TDP 2 Thales UK Ltd. 
			 7 Electric Armour Lockheed Martin UK INSYS Ltd. 
			 8 Integrated Survivability Thales UK Ltd. 
			 9 Gap Crossing BAES Land Systems (Bridging) Ltd.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the out-of-service dates are for each armoured vehicle type in the army.

Bob Ainsworth: The out-of-service (OSD) dates for armoured vehicles are detailed as follows:
	
		
			  Vehicle  Out-of-service date  Remarks 
			 Challenger 2 2035  
			 CVR(T) 2016  
			 FV430 Mk2 2002  
			 FV430 Bulldog n/a OSD yet to be confirmed 
			 Mastiff n/a No planned OSD at present 
			 Saxon GWR 2018 Being taken out of service by 2008 
			 Saxon Patrol 2023  
			 Titan 2040  
			 Trojan 2040  
			 Vector 2019  
			 Warrior 2025

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armoured vehicles of each type were in service in the Army in 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: The number of armoured vehicles of each type that were in service (total fleet) in the Army in 1997 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Vehicle type  Number in service in 1997 
			 Stormer 135 
			 Rapier 67 
			 Saxon (all variants) 634 
			 FV430 Series 1,850 
			 Centurion 40 
			 Warrior 794 
			 CVR(T) 1,671 
			 CVR(W) 2 
			 Chieftain 250 
			 CR1 429 
			 CR2 39 
			 Repair and recovery vehicles 93 
			 AS90 179 
			 MLRS 61 
			 CET 138 
			 Fuchs NBC 11

Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Expenditure

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total expenditure was on the procurement and maintenance of armoured vehicles in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: The figures in the table detail expenditure, rounded to the nearest £10 million, on the procurement and maintenance of armoured vehicles; Challenger 2, CVR(T), FV430 Mk 2, FV430 Bulldog, Saxon GWR, Saxon Patrol, Warrior, Vector, Mastiff, Trojan and Titan. The complete financial records for maintenance prior to financial year 2003-04 are not held in one central location and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Financial year  Procurement  Maintenance 
			 1997-98 350 n/a 
			 1998-99 330 n/a 
			 1999-2000 190 n/a 
			 2000-01 70 n/a 
			 2001-02 70 n/a 
			 2002-03 30 n/a 
			 2003-04 60 160 
			 2004-05 50 140 
			 2005-06 70 130 
			 2006-07 110 120 
			 n/a = not available. 
		
	
	Maintenance expenditure includes repairs, upgrade and upkeep programmes, post design services and purchase of spares.
	Procurement expenditure includes development, production, training, support equipment and initial spares.

Arms Trade

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what mechanisms are in place to prevent arms owned by the armed forces or deemed surplus to requirements becoming available on the black market.

Bob Ainsworth: Weapons owned by the armed forces are subject to the most stringent security procedures. In service weapons are always stored in secure armouries when not in use and access to these buildings is strictly controlled. Armoury stores are checked each day for quantity and each week for individual serial number, with random spot checks in addition. The process of issuing of weapons is also tightly controlled. Ammunition is subject to the same stringent checks and is stored in a secure compound separate from the weapons.
	Any weapons deemed surplus to requirements are returned to a secure storage facility, escorted either by unit personnel or moved via secure MOD approved hauliers. On arrival at the unit, a full check of NATO stock number, quantity and serial number will be undertaken, in addition to a full safety check.
	Serviceable weapons that are no longer required by the armed forces are disposed of under Government Authority. Weapons classified as beyond repair are reduced to scrap and disposed of.

Army Base Repair Organisation: Manpower

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which posts are open to indirect employees as described in KT4 (Efficiency) in the Army Base Repair Organisation key targets of financial year 2007-08.

Bob Ainsworth: The posts that are open to employees that are defined as indirect, as described in ABRO's Key Target 4 for 2007-08, include all management, supervisory and support roles, including planning and logistics.

Army Board

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2007,  Official Report, column 752W, on the Army Board, if he will provide a breakdown of the internal flights taken by the Chief of the General Staff in 2006; and what the purpose was of each flight.

Derek Twigg: I am withholding information about the details of the individual flights as its disclosure would or would be likely to endanger the safety of an individual.

Army Board

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2007,  Official Report, column 752W, on Army Board, if he will provide a breakdown of the internal flights taken by the Adjutant General in 2006; and what the purpose was of each flight.

Derek Twigg: On closer examination of the records my officials have discovered that the total number of flights undertaken by the Adjutant-General in 2006 given in answer on 11 June 2007,  Official Report, column 752W was overstated. The Adjutant-General took a total of 49 internal flights in 2006; 10 by RAF rotary and fixed wing aircraft, 34 by Army Rotary Wing aircraft and five commercial flights. I am withholding the details of the individual flights as its disclosure would or would be likely to be prejudicial to his personal security.

Army Board: Housing

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 953-4W, on the Army Board: housing, what the reasons are for the increase in the running costs of the housing provided by his Department for members of the Army Board since 1999-2000.

Derek Twigg: The changes in the running costs of accommodation associated with the posts of Chief of the General Staff, Commander in Chief Land, Adjutant-General and General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland are due to a combination of factors including:
	The use of different houses by subsequent appointment holders.
	Scheduled property maintenance.
	Periodic reassessment of departmental charging rates, scaling and entitlements for service accommodation.
	Differing staff levels (numbers and rank structure) and associated personnel costs.
	Price variations for utilities—electricity, gas etc.
	General price inflation.
	More detailed information on the specific contributions (negative or positive) of individual factors could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

Army: Horses

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by the British Army on purchasing, maintaining and transporting horses and ponies for polo in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones) on 10 May 2007,  Official Report, column 348W and the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Mr. Maples) on 1 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1539W.

Army: Uniforms

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether bearskin caps used by the British Army are sourced from bears killed specifically for the purpose of supplying the British Army.

Des Browne: To our knowledge, no pelts for use by the Guards have come from bears killed specifically for the purpose of supplying the British Army.
	Since 2001 it has been MOD policy to refurbish rather than replace bearskin caps, wherever possible. As a result no pelts have been purchased in recent years by the contractors who make the caps for the Department. Previously, when pelts have been purchased, they have been bought from regulated fur traders operating under the jurisdiction of the Canadian authorities.

AWE Aldermaston: Floods

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what flood protection measures were taken in respect of AWE Aldermaston during the recent heavy rainfall; what assessment he has made of the robustness of these protection measures; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: AWE Aldermaston has flood protection systems in place that have been agreed with the Environment Agency. These include a series of small reservoirs that were installed in the early 1990s to allow run-off water from the site to be collected and assessed prior to a managed discharge. Water flowing from areas of the site such as roads and car parks are diverted to local watercourses.
	I can confirm that these protection arrangements worked well and performed as designed.

Ballistic Missile Defence

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Space Based Infra Red System at RAF Menwith Hill will be in operation.

Des Browne: On current plans, facilities at RAF Menwith Hill for routing satellite data will be ready for operation early in 2008. The operational date for the Space Based Infra Red System is a matter for the US.

Bombs: Peacekeeping Operations

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many CRV-7 rockets fitted with cluster munition warheads UK armed forces have used in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq since October 2001.

Des Browne: No CRV-7 rockets fitted with sub-munition warheads have been used by UK armed forces against operational targets in either Afghanistan or Iraq. However, a number of CRV-7 M261 high explosive multi-purpose sub-munition rockets have been fired on a range in Afghanistan as part of routine training.
	The UK does not consider the CRV-7 multi-purpose sub-munition to be a cluster munition because of its direct fire capability and small number of sub-munitions.

Defence Equipment: Spare Parts

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many instances there were of spare parts lost in transit during financial year 2006-07; and what the value was of each loss.

Bob Ainsworth: The reported value of recorded losses in transit for financial year 2006-07 was £2.9 million, consisting of 2,058 items. Data is not held in such a way that enables the separate identification of "spare parts".

Defence Medical Services: ICT

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the launch of the Defence Medical Information Capability Programme medical IT system has been postponed; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The launch of the Defence Medical Information Capability Programme (DMICP) has not been postponed; the system was rolled out at the first Army pilot site in February 2007 and is currently in service at 12 sites. The roll out is proceeding to schedule, and the system is expected to be in service in all medical and dental centres in the UK and Germany and certain other fixed sites overseas by the middle of 2008.

Defence Medical Services: ICT

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Defence Medical Information Capability Programme will be connected to the National Care Records Service.

Derek Twigg: The Defence Medical Information Capability Programme is due to be connected to the National Care Records Service by December 2010.

Defence Medical Services: ICT

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provisions have been made for service personnel to opt out of the Defence Medical Information Capability Programme.

Derek Twigg: In agreement with the General Medical Council (GMC), the Defence Medical Services (DMS) can decide to hold every individual medical record in electronic, rather than paper format.
	Service personnel cannot opt out of this system. They may, however, ask that their record can only be seen by a clinician who is directly involved in their health care. Robust provisions have been made to ensure that individual records can be locked down so that their existence in the system is not apparent to those not entitled to see them. In addition, individuals will be able to opt out of allowing their record to be shared on the NHS National Care Record Service, and to place certain other restrictions on access to their records.
	All those whose records may be held in Defence Medical Information Capability Programme (DMICP) are being alerted to these facts before DMICP is rolled out at their medical centre. Medical staff have been briefed on the procedures and will advise their patients on the risks of restricting access to their records.

Departments: BAE Systems

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1132W, on Department: BAE Systems, how many and what percentage of applicants were  (a) granted permission to join BAE and  (b) took up posts with BAE in each of the last 10 years; how many were of those granted permission (i) civilian and (ii) military staff; what ranks each held; and how many were from the Defence Export Services Organisation.

Des Browne: holding answer 16 July 2007
	Applications received and approved to join BAE Systems in the 10 years since 1997 are as follows:
	
		
			   Number of applications to join BAE Systems  Number approved or approved with conditions  Number not approved (2-year waiting time imposed)  Of those approved, military  Of those approved, civilian 
			 1997 24 21 3 16 5 
			 1998 15 14 1 13 1 
			 1999 8 8 0 4 4 
			 2000 14 14 0 0 14 
			 2001 26 25 1 17 8 
			 2002 21 21 0 15 6 
			 2003 14 14 0 9 5 
			 2004 7 6 1 6 0 
			 2005 14 14 0 10 4 
			 2006 21 21 0 13 8 
			 Total 165 158 6 103 55 
		
	
	Of the applicants given approval, four have been from the Defence Exports Services Organisation: one in 2002, two in 2006 and one in 2007. It is not possible to determine how many applicants actually took up the posts for which they sought approval. Of the total applications, 79.9 per cent. were granted permission without condition, 16.4 per cent. were granted permission subject to behavioural conditions or waiting periods and 3.7 per cent. were required to wait for the maximum period of two years. Of the 158 applications approved, the grades or ranks were as follows:
	
		
			  Grade/Rank  Number of applications approved 
			 4-Star and above (PUS, Admiral, General, Air Chief Marshal) 1 
			 3 -Star (DUS, Vice Admiral, Lieutenant General, Air Marshal) 7 
			 2-Star (AUS, Rear Admiral, Major General, Air Vice Marshal) 8 
			 1-Star (Pay Band 1, Commodore, Brigadier, Air Commodore) 17 
			 Grade B, Captain, Colonel, Group Captain. 27 
			 Grade C, Commander/Lieutenant Commander, Lieutenant Colonel/Major, Wing Commander/Squadron Leader 78 
			 Grade D or below, Lieutenant/Sub Lieutenant RN, Captain, Lieutenant, Flight Lieutenant, Pilot Officer 20

Departments: Charities

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much Defence Estate (Aldershot) billed in liability charges for charity events held on his Department's property since April 2005 to 2007.

Derek Twigg: The information requested will need to be collated and this will take a little time. I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Departments: Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2007,  Official Report, column 989W, on Departments: consultants, on which consultancy firms the £47.2 million spent on external consultancy services was spent; which projects each worked on; and what the total cost in consultancy fees was for each private finance initiative project.

Bob Ainsworth: The Ministry of Defence uses external consultants to provide specialist commercial, financial and legal services to Integrated Project Teams to assist in the delivery of services (both PFI and non PFI). In addition, ad-hoc specialist technical consultants are engaged in particular areas where in-house expertise is not available.
	The Department requires that expenditure on consultants is pre-approved and allocated by budget to specific projects. Centrally the Department collates a global total of all consultancy fees but does not record other details centrally and therefore the information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of people employed by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies are disabled.

Derek Twigg: The following table gives details of civilian disabled personnel employed by the Ministry of Defence.
	
		
			  Ministry of Defence: Declared  d isabled( 1) —1 April 2007 
			   Percentage 
			 Ministry of Defence (excluding agencies) 5.8 
			   
			  Agencies:  
			 Service Personnel and Veterans Agency 11.3 
			 Defence Analytical Services Agency 4.4 
			 Defence Medical and Education Training Agency 7.7 
			 Defence Storage and Distribution Agency 8.8 
			 Defence Vetting Agency 4.4 
			 Ministry of Defence Police 3.4 
			 People Pay and Pensions Agency 4.5 
			 Service Children's Education 0.5 
			   
			 Ministry of Defence(2): Total 5.5 
			 (1) Disability self-certification was introduced in 2001. (2) This includes civilian staff employed by the Ministry of Defence and Trading Funds, but excludes Royal Fleet Auxiliaries and Locally Engaged Staff. Disability data for Royal Fleet Auxiliaries and Locally Engaged Staff are unavailable.  Note: Percentages are calculated from known response.  Source: DASA (Civilian).

Departments: Flowers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by his Department on flowers in the last 12 months.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Frontier Medical

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department's contract with Frontier Medical was signed; what tendering process was used for the contract; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The MOD signed a contract with Frontier Medical Service Ltd. on 13 March 2007 to provide suitably qualified medical personnel to operational theatres. The contract was awarded following a fair competition conducted by the MOD in accordance with EU regulations and MOD policies.

Departments: Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many press officers are employed by his Department.

Derek Twigg: On 27 July 2007 there were 22 press officers employed in the Ministry of Defence's central press office in London, and seven press officers employed in Regional Press Offices.
	This answer does not include those employed as press officers in Defence Agencies, the Permanent Joint Headquarters, single Service Commands or at unit level, some of whom have a press officer task in addition to their main role. An audit is being conducted by MOD of overall numbers and roles of personnel involved in communications in order to assist with implementation of the Defence Communications Strategy. When this audit concludes, key findings will be made available through the MOD's website and I will write to you.

Departments: Meetings

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many meetings he has had with external bodies and representative organisations since 27 June 2007.

Des Browne: The Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister for the armed forces did not hold any such meetings during the period. The Minister for Defence Equipment and Support held meetings with BAES, EADS, Lockheed Martin, CSEU, GMB Union, MBDA and T&G Union. The Under-Secretary of State held meetings with the Three Faith Forum, Electoral Commission, CVQO and the Armed Forces Pensions Group.

Departments: Press

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which periodicals his Department subscribes.

Derek Twigg: I have placed lists of the current periodicals, newspapers and copyrate magazines in the Library of the House.

Departments: Press

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by his Department on newspapers and magazines in the last 12 months.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence holds a contract with a supplier to provide newspapers and copyrate magazines to units in the London area. This contract came into force on 1 March 2002. Expenditure under the contract for financial year 2006-07 was £65,324.
	MOD units outside London may purchase newspapers under local arrangements. Information on expenditure under such local arrangements is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Redundancy Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by his Department on redundancy payments in the last 12 months.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	We hold information centrally on a Department-wide voluntary early release scheme which was launched in March 2005, in connection with the civil service-wide reductions required under the 2004 Spending Review. The in-year cost to the Department of individuals who left over the 12-month period of Financial Year 2006-07 on voluntary terms under the MOD Early Release Scheme is £17 million.

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much was spent by his Department on staff training in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how much was spent by his Department on  (a) staff and  (b) communication training in the last 12 months.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by his Department on staff away days in the last 12 months.

Des Browne: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Travel Expenses

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much was spent by his Department on first class train tickets in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how much was spent by his Department on  (a) first class and  (b) business flights in the last 12 months;
	(3)  how much was spent by his Department on taxis in the last 12 months.

Derek Twigg: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Tribunals

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by his Department on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

Derek Twigg: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will assess the merits of moving additional military and Ministry of Defence civilian staff to York.

Derek Twigg: As my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary told the House on 26 July 2007, a newly established Divisional Headquarters, HQ 6 Div, is to be based in York. This will involve approximately 55 additional military personnel and six civilians being based in York.

Depleted Uranium

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the health implications of embedded uranium shrapnel to serving and retired personnel; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence maintains a watching brief on the published scientific literature relating to the health implications of embedded uranium shrapnel. On this basis, our current view is that, although ongoing surveillance of veterans with embedded shrapnel is prudent, there is currently no indication of uranium-related health effects in any of the veterans studied.
	As part of this ongoing surveillance, we recently offered follow-up monitoring to the small group of UK veterans found to have depleted uranium in their urine. The current scientific assessment is that there will be no health implications for these veterans.

EU Defence Policy

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made towards meeting the EU Headline Goal 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: Good progress is being made towards the Headline Goal 2010. In March 2006 all EU member states responded to the Headline Goal Questionnaire, detailing those forces which potentially could be made available for use on EU led operations. These are currently being assessed against the requirement in terms of both quantity and quality. The Progress Catalogue, due to be published in November, will make clear whether the offered forces are sufficient to meet the requirement and, if there are any deficiencies, will provide an assessment of the military risks associated with them, and the potential impact on the EU's ability to achieve its level of ambition.

European Fighter Aircraft: Saudi Arabia

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the source code software will be included in the sale of Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The current negotiations on the sale of Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia are confidential between the two Governments. I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice international relations and harm the interests of the United Kingdom.

Future Surface Combatant

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether task specifications for the Future Surface Combatant have been drawn up; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 25 July 2007
	 Requirements for Defence equipment projects are formalised at Initial Gate and approved at Main Gate. The Future Surface Combatant project is still in the Concept Phase and an Initial Gate date has not yet been set.

Galileo Project

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2007,  Official Report, column 955W, on Galileo project, whether representatives of his Department have attended meetings on the Galileo project within the last six months apart from the meetings attended by experts from the Defence Scientific and Technology Laboratory.

Bob Ainsworth: Yes.

Helicopters

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current percentage shortfall is of required spares for each helicopter type in the  (a) Army Air Corps,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force.

Bob Ainsworth: In providing logistic support to UK military helicopters, the focus is moving from spares availability to guaranteed aircraft availability. Merlin, Sea King and Chinook spares support is already contracting through availability contracts with industry.
	The percentage of spares demands satisfied direct from MOD stocks in June 2007 have been listed in the table.
	Spare parts availability for all of these aircraft has been sufficient to meet operational commitments.
	
		
			  Aircraft platform  Owner service  Spares satisfaction rates (percentage) 
			 Attack Helicopter Army 77 
			 RTM322 engine — 94 
			
			 Chinook RAF 94 
			 T55 engine — 96 
			
			 Gazelle Army 96 
			 Astazou 3N2 engine — 99 
			
			 LynxMk3/Mk8 RN (1)92 
			 LynxMk7/Mk9 Army (1)92 
			 Gem engine — 99 
			
			 Merlin Mk1 RN (1)80 
			 Merlin Mk3 RAF (1)80 
			 RTM322 engine — 94 
			
			 Puma RAF 96 
			 Turmo engine — 92 
			
			 Sea King Mk3 RAF (1)92 
			 Sea King Mks4, 6, 6c and 7 RN (1)92 
			 Gnome engine — 95 
			 (1) Across this aircraft type.

Helicopters

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many helicopters there were in the  (a) Army Air Corps,  (b) Navy,  (c) RAF and  (d) Armed Forces in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2007.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is shown as follows:
	
		
			   1997 (as at 1 April)  2007 (as at 30 June) 
			 Army Air Corps 295 289 
			 Royal Navy 225 232 
			 Royal Air Force 142 132 
			 Armed Forces Total 662 653 
		
	
	The figures for 2007 do not include the six RAF Merlin helicopters recently acquired from Denmark or the eight RAF Chinook Mark 3 helicopters that are being converted to a Battlefield Support role, as announced by the Secretary of State on 30 March 2007.

HMS Birmingham

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current status is of HMS Birmingham.

Bob Ainsworth: HMS Birmingham was decommissioned in 1999, sold in 2000 and was then dismantled in Spain.

HMS Illustrious

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many days  (a) HMS Illustrious and  (b) HMS Ark Royal were at sea in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: The number of days spent at sea each year since 1997 by HMS Illustrious and HMS Ark Royal are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of days at sea 
			   HMS Illustrious  HMS Ark Royal 
			 1998 85.25 0 
			 1999 102.50 4.75 
			 2000 124.25 0 
			 2001 165.25 67.50 
			 2002 66.00 120.25 
			 2003 0 133.00 
			 2004 30.25 17.00 
			 2005 123.25 3.75 
			 2006 123.75 33.00 
			 Up to 25 July 2007 80.00 68.00 
		
	
	HMS Illustrious was in refit from November 2002 to November 2004.
	HMS Ark Royal was at low readiness in 1998 and entered refit in June 1999 until March 2001. She was at low readiness from May 2004 and entered refit October 2005 until September 2006.

Iraq: Bombs

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what evidence has been provided by Royal Military Police forensic teams from DNA samples found on bomb  (a) parts and  (b) fragments in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan which match UK nationals recorded on the UK National Database.

Bob Ainsworth: The MOD shares forensic information with the police derived from operations overseas with a view to enhancing the protection of UK armed forces from threats overseas, the investigation of criminal activity in the UK, and the identification of any connection between the two. I am withholding details of the information requested as its release would, or would be likely to prejudice the capacity, effectiveness or security of our armed forces and the prevention or detection of crime.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on operations in Iraq from  (a) its annual Delegated Expenditure Limits for resource spending,  (b) its annual Delegated Expenditure Limits for capital spending and  (c) by drawing down expenditure from HM Treasury's unallocated special reserve in each financial year since 2002-03.

Des Browne: The net additional costs of operations in Iraq are met from the Treasury's Reserves and not the Department's Expenditure Limits.
	The total of the annual audited figures for the costs of operations in Iraq for the years 2002-03 to 2005-06 are as follows:
	
		
			   Cost of operations (£ million) 
			  2002-03  
			 Resource Expenditure 629 
			 Capital Expenditure 218 
			 Total 847 
			   
			  2003-04  
			 Resource Expenditure 1,051 
			 Capital Expenditure 260 
			 Total 1,311 
			   
			  2004-05  
			 Resource Expenditure 747 
			 Capital Expenditure 163 
			 Total 910 
			   
			  2005-06  
			 Resource Expenditure 798 
			 Capital Expenditure 160 
			 Total 958 
		
	
	A total estimated cost of £1,002 million for 2006-07 was included in the Spring Supplementary Estimates published in February. Final figures will be published in the MOD's Annual Report and Accounts for 2006-07.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many detainees were in British custody in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan in each year since 2001, broken down by nationality.

Des Browne: The MOD publishes monthly internee figures on its website
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets/OperationsInIraqKeyFactsFigures.htm
	As at 26 July 2007 there were 88 internees in British custody in Iraq. Since 1 January 2004 records show that the total number of people interned in Iraq by UK forces is 1,536. The number of internees held at any one time varies significantly: since 2004, the number held has generally ranged between 20 and 140. Readily accessible records indicate that there is one dual Iraqi/British national in British custody, and that the remainder are all Iraqi nationals. These records do not include those released or passed to Iraqi custody within eight hours of initial detention.
	We do not operate a policy of internment in Afghanistan. However, UK troops occasionally detain suspected criminals for brief periods before passing them on to the Government of Afghanistan. Our records indicate that the number of detainees that have passed through British custody in Afghanistan are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2001 2 
			 2002 1 
			 2003 4 
			 2004 0 
			 2005 0 
			 2006 33 
			 2007 (As of 30 July) 64 
		
	
	Readily accessible records indicate that the majority of these are Afghan nationals, but have included a small number of third country nationals.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British military engineers were deployed to  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan in each year since 2001; and what their primary mission was in each case.

Bob Ainsworth: We deploy British military engineers on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan to conduct close engineer support (such as mobility support, counter mobility support, explosive ordnance disposal, boat support, and search) and general engineer support (such as infrastructure development, construction, geographic support, and civil-military cooperation). We cannot provide the total number of engineering personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan for each year since 2001 as these records are not held centrally and cannot be provided without disproportionate cost. We can, however, provide the details of the main engineering units deployed to Iraq since 2003 and Afghanistan since 2006. In addition to these units, there are also Royal Navy/Royal Marine, Army and Royal Air Force Engineers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan undertaking maintenance tasks in support of both rotary and fixed wing aircraft and vehicle squadrons.
	 Engineering units deployed to Iraq
	 2003
	Headquarters Royal Engineers 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division
	Elements of Headquarters 12 Engineer Brigade (Air Support)
	32 Engineer Regiment
	28 Engineer Regiment
	36 Engineer Regiment
	23 Engineer Regiment
	33 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal)
	42 Engineer Regiment (Geographic Support)
	64 Works Group Royal Engineers
	59 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers
	Elements of 131 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers (Volunteers)
	38 Engineer Regiment Group
	Elements of 62 Works Group Royal Engineers
	35 Engineer Regiment Group
	 2004
	22 Engineer Regiment Group
	21 Engineer Regiment Group
	Elements of 63 Works Group Royal Engineers
	 2005
	26 Engineer Regiment Group
	32 Engineer Regiment Group
	Elements of 64 Works Group Royal Engineers
	 2006
	35 Engineer Regiment Group
	38 Engineer Regiment Group
	Elements of 63 Works Group Royal Engineers
	 2007
	22 Engineer Regiment Group
	Elements of 64 Works Group Royal Engineers
	21 Engineer Regiment Group
	Elements of 62 Works Group Royal Engineers.
	 Engineering units deployed to Afghanistan
	 2006
	51 Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers
	Elements of 49 Field Squadron (Explosive Ordnance Disposal)
	Elements of 63 Works Group Royal Engineers
	28 Engineer Regiment Group
	59 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers
	 2007
	26 Engineer Regiment Group
	Elements of 64 Works Group Royal Engineers
	Elements of 62 Works Group Royal Engineers.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what risk assessments have been carried out on  (a) RAF and  (b) Army accommodation in Basra with particular reference to (i) overhead protection and (ii) protection from shrapnel; what action (A) was taken and (B) is planned as a result; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: There is no distinction made in an operational theatre on the standard of accommodation, or protection afforded to it, on the basis of service.
	Commanders in theatre keep all force protection measures including that of accommodation under constant review, against an ever-evolving threat and a number of measures are being developed to further improve protection.
	Force protection arrangements in Basra employ multiple layers of defence. This is in addition to operations to disrupt attacks against UK forces and other protective equipment, tactics, techniques and procedures designed to minimise the chance of a successful attack. Details of these measures cannot be released as disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of the armed forces.

Iraq-Kuwait Conflict: Depleted Uranium

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the number of UK service personnel who served in the 1990-91 Gulf conflict and as a result of injuries sustained there have embedded uranium shrapnel.

Derek Twigg: We are not aware of any incidents involving injury to UK service personnel in the 1990-91 Gulf conflict resulting in embedded depleted uranium shrapnel injuries. This is supported by the recent findings of the Depleted Uranium Oversight Board (DUOB) which was established in 2001 to oversee a screening programme for veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf conflict and subsequent Balkans operations concerned about possible exposure to depleted uranium. I announced the publication of the final report of the DUOB on 26 March 2007,  Official Report, column 64WS.

Military Aircraft

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current percentage shortfall is of required spares for  (a) C17A Globemaster,  (b) Hercules C-130K,  (c) Hercules C-130J,  (d) Tristar,  (e) VC-10 and  (f) Nimrod MR2.

Bob Ainsworth: Aircraft spares for the C-17A Globemaster and the Hercules C-130 are provided under aircraft availability contracts with industry and spares stock levels are not measured.
	Aircraft spares for the TriStar, VC-10 and Nimrod MR2 are also partly provided direct from industry. However, spares demands satisfied from MOD stocks in June 2007, expressed as a percentage, were 74 per cent. for the TriStar, 78 per cent. for the VC-10 and 81 per cent. for the Nimrod MR2.
	Spare parts availability for all of these aircraft has been sufficient to meet operational commitments.

Minesweepers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many minehunters were  (a) on active service and  (b) in reserve in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2007; what plans he has to change the numbers; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: In 1997 there were 18 Mine Counter-Measure Vessels (MCMVs) in service and capable of mine-hunting operations. There are currently 16 MCMVs in service. There were no such vessels in reserve either in 1997 or 2007.
	There are currently no plans to change the number of MCMVs.

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency: USA

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 29 July 2007,  Official Report, column 903W, on Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency: USA, if he will place in the Library the results of the negotiations being held with the US authorities concerning the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency and the US authorities.

Bob Ainsworth: The revised Memorandum of Agreement will be made available in the Library of the House once the revised Agreement between the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency and the US authorities has been finalised, and all parties, including the US, have been consulted.

Navy: Fisheries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answers of 4 June 2007,  Official Report, column 175W, on Navy: fisheries, when he expects to collate and make available the information requested; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The collation of the information has now been completed. I wrote to the hon. Member on 25 August.

Navy: Frigates

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to commence the industrial procurement process for the Future Surface Combatant.

Bob Ainsworth: Until an investment decision has been taken, as part of the current planning round which is due to complete in early 2008, the timeline for the Future Surface Combatant project cannot be determined.

Nuclear Weapons

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidelines his Department follows on the proximity of storage of nuclear weapons to  (a) residential properties and  (b) other nuclear weapons.

Bob Ainsworth: UK nuclear weapons, in common with all MOD conventional weapons, are stored according to their conventional explosives content in explosives facilities which are assessed and licensed in accordance with the requirements of the Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations (MSER) 2005. The MOD applies these regulations through Joint Services Publication 482—MOD Explosives Regulations. JSP 482 stipulates specific safety separation distances to be maintained between explosives and residential properties and public roads and between adjacent explosives storage and processing facilities.
	Nuclear warheads are stored safely in accordance with arrangements prescribed by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. Specific regulations are covered by the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999.

RAF Brize Norton: Charities

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the reasons were for the decision of Defence Estate officials to waive the liability charge for the Sgt Biddiss Charity event held at RAF Brize Norton.

Derek Twigg: Defence Estates officials reviewed in detail the background to the event. Based on that review they concluded that the event justified the waiving of the small marginal cost. This action was acceptable within their delegation.

Sierra Leone: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British armed forces personnel were wounded during operations in  (a) Sierra Leone,  (b) Bosnia and  (c) Kosovo in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my predecessor on 11 June 2007,  Official Report, column 763W, to the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper).

Territorial Army: Deployment

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Territorial Army sub-units had members mobilised on operational service in the last three years; and which have members currently on operational service.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 26 July 2007
	All major Territorial Army (TA) units have mobilised personnel on operational service over the last three years in various proportions. To identify the sub-units within these units from which each mobilised member of the TA has originated would incur disproportionate cost.
	There are currently 571 members of the TA in overseas operational theatres (as at 3 July 2007).

Territorial Army: Resignations

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average length of service was for each rank of the Territorial Army on resigning for the latest period for which figures are available.

Bob Ainsworth: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Trident Missiles

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had with  (a) the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate,  (b) the Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield and  (c) others on the safety of the Trident warhead assembly/disassembly plant at Burghfield, with particular reference to (i) working practices and (ii) facilities.

Bob Ainsworth: The safety of the assembly/disassembly facilities at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is not in question. The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate maintains a continuous dialogue with the nuclear site licensee (AWE plc) and with the MOD on all aspects of the safety of facilities and operations at AWE, where safety is paramount to all stakeholders.

Trident Missiles

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date his Department received the first communication from the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate on the safety of the warhead assembly/disassembly facility at Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield.

Bob Ainsworth: The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate maintains, and has since first licensing, a continuous dialogue with the nuclear site licensee at Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield, and with the MOD on all aspects of the safety of facilities and operations, including the warhead assembly/disassembly facility.

Trident Missiles

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to replace the warhead assembly/disassembly facility at Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield.

Bob Ainsworth: A number of options remain under consideration. Final decisions have yet to be taken.

Trident Missiles

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the merits of using (i) probabilistic risk assessments and (ii) deterministic risk assessments for assessing risk at Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: No specific research has been commissioned into these techniques and none is needed. The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate licence conditions for the Atomic Weapons Establishment demand that appropriate safety cases are generated as a matter of routine in the evaluation of risk. Deterministic and probabilistic risk assessments are tools employed in defining and ranking the postulated hazards. The use of such risk assessment techniques is considered best practice within the nuclear industry. Their use by AWE plc is regularly benchmarked against—and compares favourably with—other nuclear operators.

Type 45 Destroyers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of Type-45 Destroyers needed on station to provide adequate air defence for a carrier battlegroup.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 25 July 2007
	 I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor gave on 10 May 2006,  Official Report, column 290W.

Warships

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the out-of-service dates are for each  (a) submarine,  (b) frigate,  (c) destroyer and  (e) minehunter vessel in the Royal Navy.

Bob Ainsworth: Our present planning assumptions, which are routinely updated as required, are as follows:
	 Submarines
	 Vanguard Class
	It is not possible to give precise out of service dates for the four Vanguard Class submarines. As indicated in the December 2006 White Paper on the future of the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent we believe that we can extend the original design life by around five years and that accordingly the first Vanguard class submarine would go out of service around 2022 and the second around 2024 and work is ongoing to determine the optimum out of service dates for the remaining two.
	
		
			  Swiftsure Class 
			  Name  Out of service date 
			 HMS Superb 2008 
			 HMS Sceptre 2010 
		
	
	
		
			  Trafalgar Class 
			  Name  Out of service date 
			 HMS Trafalgar 2009 
			 HMS Turbulent 2011 
			 HMS Tireless 2013 
			 HMS Torbay 2015 
			 HMS Trenchant 2017 
			 HMS Talent 2019 
			 HMS Triumph 2022 
		
	
	 Frigates
	
		
			  Type 22 Class 
			  Name  Out of service date 
			 HMS Cornwall 2015 
			 HMS Campbeltown 2017 
			 HMS Cumberland 2017 
			 HMS Chatham 2018 
		
	
	
		
			  Type 23 Class 
			  Name  Out of service date 
			 HMS Argyll 2019 
			 HMS Lancaster 2019 
			 HMS Iron Duke 2020 
			 HMS Monmouth 2021 
			 HMS Montrose 2021 
			 HMS Westminster 2021 
			 HMS Northumberland 2022 
			 HMS Richmond 2022 
			 HMS Somerset 2023 
			 HMS Sutherland 2025 
			 HMS Kent 2028 
			 HMS Portland 2028 
			 HMS St. Albans 2029 
		
	
	 Destroyers
	
		
			  Type 42 Class 
			  Name  Out of service date 
			 HMS Southampton 2009 
			 HMS Exeter 2009 
			 HMS Liverpool 2010 
			 HMS Manchester 2011 
			 HMS Gloucester 2011 
			 HMS Nottingham 2012 
			 HMS York 2012 
			 HMS Edinburgh 2013 
		
	
	 Minehunter Vessels
	
		
			  Hunt Class 
			  Name  Out of service date 
			 HMS Ledbury 2019 
			 HMS Cattistock 2020 
			 HMS Brocklesbury 2020 
			 HMS Chiddingfold 2020 
			 HMS Middleton 2020 
			 HMS Hurworth 2022 
			 HMS Atherstone 2022 
			 HMS Quorn 2023 
		
	
	
		
			  Sandown Class 
			  Name  Out of service date 
			 HMS Walney 2017 
			 HMS Penzance 2023 
			 HMS Pembroke 2023 
			 HMS Grimsby 2024 
			 HMS Bangor 2024 
			 HMS Ramsey 2025 
			 HMS Blyth 2026 
			 HMS Shoreham 2026

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Aerials: Planning Permission

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many letters her Department has received from residents of Southend, West constituency  (a) in favour of and  (b) opposed to the erection of mobile telephone masts in the last 12 months; what response she gave; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The Department has no record of any letters from the hon. Member enclosing correspondence from his constituents regarding the erection of mobile telephone masts in the last 12 months. The Department has no record of any letters from residents with postcodes covered by Southend-on-Sea borough council regarding mobile telephone masts in the last 12 months.

Aerials: Planning Permission

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many mobile telephone masts there were in Southend, West constituency in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: This information is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Local planning authorities are not required to notify the Department where a mast has been installed following a prior approval application. However, every autumn the mobile phone operators share their annual roll out plans with local planning authorities and list all the existing sites in the local authority area as well as proposed sites. The hon. Member may wish to discuss these plans with his local planning authority.

Aerials: Planning Permission

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has issued to local authorities on defining close proximity to residential areas and schools when considering planning applications for mobile telephone masts; what recent representations she has received on the issue of mobile telephone masts; what responses she has given; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The Government's planning policy on telecommunications is set out in planning policy guidance note 8 (PPG 8) on Telecommunications which states that
	"In addition to any statutory consultation, authorities are strongly encouraged to undertake any additional publicity that they consider necessary to give people likely to be affected by the proposed development an opportunity to make their views known to the authority. Where a mast is to be installed on or near a school or college the local planning authority should consult the relevant body of the school or college concerned and should take into account any relevant views expressed."
	No guidance to local authorities has been issued which defines close proximity to residential areas and schools.
	We have received a number of parliamentary questions, letters from hon. Members, other organisations and members of the public recently covering a wide variety of issues in relation to mobile telephone masts. In addition, officials have dealt with a range of correspondence, emails and telephone calls on the issue of mobile telephone masts.

Aerials: Planning Permission

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the planning process is for applications for new  (a) pico cell,  (b) micro cell and  (c) macro cell mobile telephone masts; and how that process differs from that which applied in 2004.

Iain Wright: The planning process that applies to pico cells, micro cells and macro cell mobile telephone masts will depend on the nature of the proposed development and the law may be interpreted and applied differently by individual local authorities.
	Some minor operations or changes of use of land which are de minimis may not constitute development and may therefore not require planning permission.
	Certain telecommunications development undertaken by electronic communications code operators is granted planning permission by part 24 of schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 without the need for an application for planning permission. Such development must comply with the conditions provided by part 24, which in some cases, includes being required to follow a prior approval process.
	Other forms of telecommunications development will require an application for planning permission.
	The most recent changes to part 24 of schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 were introduced by the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (England) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/2718) and by the Communications Act 2003 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/2155). Neither the relevant legislation nor planning policy guidance note 8: Telecommunications has been amended since 2004.

Aerials: Planning Permission

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list the meetings  (a) her Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) officials from her Department have had with mobile telephone mast operators or their representatives since 1 January 2006; who attended; what was discussed; how long the meetings lasted; if she will place in the Library the note made by her officials of each meeting; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Ministers from Communities and Local Government along with those from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department of Health meet with representatives of the mobile telephone industry every six months to discuss issues of mutual interest.
	In addition, officials from Communities and Local Government have had several meetings with mobile telephone operators or their representatives including meetings of the Electronic Communications Working Group.

Aerials: Planning Permission

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what restrictions there are on the erection of mobile telephone masts; what legislation regulates such restrictions; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is the principal Act which regulates the erection of mobile telephone masts. This provides that development as defined requires planning permission. Part 24 of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 grants planning permission, without the need for an application, for certain forms of telecommunications development carried out by electronic communications code operators. This includes the installation of ground-based masts below 15 metres in height on land (other than on protected land such as national parks).
	Planning permission granted under Part 24 is subject to certain conditions including a prior approval process for masts. Under Part 24, where development is proposed on land which is not in, on, over or under land controlled by the electronic communications code operator it must be carried out in accordance with The Electronic Communications Code, operated by the industry regulator.

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received since November 2006 from  (a) hon. Members,  (b) Members of the House of Lords,  (c) organisations and  (d) members of the public on the incidence of anti-Semitism in England and Wales; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Government published their response to the All Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Anti-Semitism in March 2007. On 20 June officials from Communities and Local Government and other Departments met Jewish stakeholders to consider progress made with implementation of the Government's response and further meetings will take place quarterly.
	An Adjournment debate around anti-Semitism on 19 July provided Members of Parliament with the opportunity to make representations to Government.
	The Secretary of State has not received any representations from Members of the House of Lords.

Arms Length Management Organisations

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has issued on the minimum threshold of support among  (a) tenants,  (b) leaseholders and  (c) all residents for a local authority to proceed with transferring management of properties to an arm's length management organisation.

Iain Wright: None. The Department does not specify a minimum threshold of support. It is up to each local authority to demonstrate that it has consulted its tenants and leaseholders and to provide evidence of support for its arm's length management organisation proposals when it applies for the Secretary of State's consent to delegate its housing management functions. Consent will not be granted unless the Secretary of State is satisfied with the evidence provided.

Audit Commission

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government why the Audit Commission decided to change the indicators used to assess comprehensive performance assessments prior to their replacement with comprehensive area assessments.

Iain Wright: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the Chief Executive of the Audit Commission to write to you directly.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred ,  dated 26 July 2007:
	I am writing in response to your parliamentary question asking why the Audit Commission decided to change the indicators used to assess comprehensive performance assessments prior to their replacement with comprehensive area assessments.
	The Commission published a consultation document on the framework for CPA 2007 in April this year. In this document a small number of changes were proposed to the performance indicators used in the Audit Commission service assessments for housing, environment and culture, to ensure that CPA remained relevant and continued to drive improvements in public services. The proposals included supplementing the existing set of indicators with four newly available indicators that measure outcomes recognisable by local residents or vulnerable people. It was also proposed to remove four indicators (where there are issues with data availability, data quality or national consistency) and replace three indicators with more meaningful measures of performance. These represent only a small proportion of the total number of indicators; in 2006 there were 31 indicators included in the environment service assessment, 20 in housing and 18 in culture.
	The majority of consultation responses expressed a strong desire for stability in the CPA framework and the Commission considered these at its meeting this morning. We will be publishing a document within the next few weeks setting out our final decisions and explaining the reasons for them. I am able to confirm at this stage, however, that a number of the changes proposed in our consultation document will not now go ahead.
	It is worth noting that the Commission is also considering the framework and transitional arrangements that it puts in place for 2008, as this is the last year they will carry out assessments under the CPA methodology. The new CAA framework is due to be in place from April 2008.
	A copy of this letter will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Bellwin Scheme

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated cost to the public purse is of the changes to the Bellwin scheme outlined in her statement of 9 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1189, on flooding (England).

John Healey: It is too early to estimate the level of costs to local authorities arising out of the recent floods which might be eligible for Bellwin funding. Under the special arrangements for this scheme, authorities are able to claim for eligible costs incurred up to six months after the flooding.

Bellwin Scheme

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the changes to the Bellwin scheme outlined in her statement of 9 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1189, on flooding (England), will only apply to claims made in relation to the recent flooding incidents.

John Healey: Yes.

Bellwin Scheme

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have notified her Department of their intention to apply for Bellwin scheme funding following the recent floods.

John Healey: The following authorities had notified an intention to claim for the flooding events in June by the closing date of 31 July:
	Amber Valley Borough Council
	Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
	Bassetlaw District Council
	Bolsover District Council
	Bridgnorth District Council
	Chesterfield Borough Council
	Derbyshire County Council
	Derbyshire Combined Fire Authority
	Derbyshire Dales District Council
	Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
	East Riding of Yorkshire Council
	East Lindsey District Council
	Erewash Borough Council
	Gedling Borough Council
	Gloucestershire County Council
	Harrogate Borough Council
	Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue
	High Peak Borough Council
	Humberside Fire and Rescue Service
	Humberside Police Authority
	Kingston upon Hull City Council
	Leeds City Council
	Lichfield District Council
	Lincoln City Council
	Lincolnshire County Council
	Newark and Sherwood District Council
	North East Derbyshire District Council
	North East Lincolnshire Council
	North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
	Pendle BC
	Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
	Scarborough Borough Council
	Sheffield City Council
	Shropshire County Council
	South Shropshire District Council
	South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
	South Yorkshire Police Authority
	Stafford Borough Council
	Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority
	Warwick District Council
	Warwickshire County Council
	Wakefield City Council
	West Mercia Police Authority
	West Lindsey District Council
	West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
	Worcestershire County Council
	Wyre Forest District Council
	Authorities have until the end of August to notify incidents occurring in July. To date the following authorities have done so:
	Bridgnorth District Council
	Cheltenham Borough Council
	Cotswold District Council
	Derbyshire Combined Fire Authority
	Gloucestershire County Council
	Hereford and Worcester Combined Fire Authority
	Lichfield District Council
	Scarborough Borough Council
	Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council
	South Shropshire District Council
	Stratford-on-Avon District Council
	Tewkesbury Borough Council
	Warwick District Council
	Warwickshire County Council
	West Mercia Police Authority
	West Oxfordshire District Council
	Wokingham District Council
	Worcestershire County Council
	Wychavon District Council

Bellwin Scheme

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether expenditure by a local authority on a local council tax discount under the Local Government Act 2003 for victims of flooding is eligible for funding under the Bellwin scheme.

John Healey: The statutory power for Bellwin grant is section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. This section only permits the Secretary of State to provide financial assistance in respect of expenditure incurred by a local authority. Reductions in income arising out of council tax foregone are therefore not eligible for Bellwin grant.

Bellwin Scheme

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes have been made to the operation of the Bellwin Scheme since May 1997.

John Healey: On 7 July the Prime Minister announced special changes to the Bellwin scheme for the June floods to make it easier for local councils to claim back additional costs. These changes allow local authorities to reclaim 100 per cent. of their costs above threshold (up from 85 per cent.) and to claim costs incurred in the six months following the incident (up from two months). We have also invited local authorities to make interim claims before the expiry of the six months qualifying expenditure period.
	A further Bellwin scheme has been activated in respect of the July floods, incorporating the same special changes.

Commission on Integration and Cohesion

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for her Department to publish a formal response to the report of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has said that she will publish a formal response to the report on the Commission on Integration and Cohesion in the autumn.

Community Development: Bedfordshire

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding was provided by  (a) the Government,  (b) Bedfordshire local authorities and  (c) others to the Bedfordshire Citizen Service Partnership.

John Healey: The amount of funds received by Bedfordshire Citizen Service Partnership from the Government was £1.78 million from the Local e-Government Programme and £1.24 million from the Invest to Save budget.
	Details of funding provided by Bedfordshire local authorities and/or received from others should be available from the Bedfordshire authorities.

Community Development: Thames Gateway

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to ensure that adequate funding is made available for statutory agencies to  (a) deliver the social infrastructure required to meet the needs of the new Thames Gateway communities and  (b) ensure that they are fully sustainable.

Yvette Cooper: The Government are investing heavily in infrastructure and services for people in the Thames Gateway, with billions spent on education, health and transport. Since 2003, growth area funding also supports parks and green spaces in the Thames Gateway, and the Thames Gateway Draft Strategic Framework set out the need to involve existing communities in the development of the Gateway. We will be in a position to announce future spending in the Thames Gateway following the Comprehensive Spending Review.
	We know that achieving our ambitions in the Thames Gateway is about more than just housing and jobs. With this in mind, we have established a cross Government senior level Board to ensure that policy and spending is joined up and will deliver the types of sustainable communities that people will choose to live in both now and in the future.

Council Housing: Repairs and Maintenance

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which stock option each local authority with council housing has chosen to meet the decent homes standard; whether tenants have supported or rejected the strategy in each case; and what the performance rating is of the housing service (number of stars and expectations of future performance) in the case of retaining authorities and those that plan to set up an arms length management organisation.

Yvette Cooper: A table showing the information requested, with explanatory notes, has been placed in the Library of the House. We do not have up to date housing performance information for all local authorities and this is reflected in the table.
	All delivery options have received tenant support as part of the Options Appraisal process, or as part of the application process for an individual programme where the application predated 2003.

Council Tax: Pensioners

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the annual cost of an automatic 50 per cent. discount on council tax for pensioners in England.

John Healey: The Department has made no such estimate.

Council Tax: Second Homes

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of how local authorities make use of the additional income raised through the discretionary council tax levy they can raise from second homes; and what proportion of resources are deployed to contribute to meeting local housing need.

John Healey: Since April 2004 local authorities have had discretionary powers to set the council tax discount offered on second homes at any point between 10 per cent. and 50 per cent. and on long term empty homes at any point between 0 per cent. and 50 per cent. It is up to local authorities to decide how to use this power and what they do with the additional income generated.
	Communities and Local Government have made no assessment of how local authorities make use of the income generated through reducing the discount.

Council Tax: Second Homes

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much her Department paid to local authorities to compensate them for the income foregone through the 50 per cent. council tax discount available for second home owners in each year for which records are available since 2000;
	(2)  how much subsidy has been paid to local authorities to compensate them for the 50 per cent. council tax discount available for second home owners since the council tax system was introduced.

John Healey: The distribution of formula grant to local authorities in England takes account of the circumstances of each authority's area and its relative ability to pay council tax, expressed in terms of the council tax base. The calculation of a council's tax base takes into account the Band D-equivalent number of second homes and has done so since council tax was introduced in 1993. Since 1 April 2004, although billing authorities have been able to reduce the council discount for second homes in their area (to between 10 and 50 per cent.), a discount of 50 per cent. has continued to be assumed for all authorities in calculating the tax base for the purposes of distributing formula grant.
	Other things being equal, the smaller the council tax base of a council's area, the larger its formula grant. This effect has, however, been modified in recent years by the application of grant 'floors', which guarantee a minimum percentage increase in grant each year on a like-for-like basis.
	For this reason, and because formula grant is not hypothecated—i.e. it can be used for any purpose—it is not possible to calculate an amount of formula grant payable for second homes.

Council Tax: Second Homes

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many and which council tax collecting authorities which include domestic properties entitled to a council tax discount for second homes have not decided to use their discretionary powers to levy an additional 40 per cent. charge;
	(2)  which council tax collecting authorities took advantage of the opportunity to levy  (a) part and  (b) all of the discretionary additional charge from those domestic council tax payers who are entitled to the 50 per cent. second home discount in each year for which records are available; and which political party controlled each authority at the time of collection.

John Healey: I have placed in the Library of the House tables showing which local authorities have levied either (a) all, (b) part, and (c) none of the discretionary additional charge in each year since 2004.

Council Tax: Second Homes

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of all properties for which council tax is payable in each local authority were entitled to a second home discount in each year since 2000.

John Healey: I have placed in the Library of the House the information requested for the number of properties classed as second homes and entitled to discount in each local authority in England for 2002 to 2006. Data prior to this are not considered sufficiently robust.

Council Tax: Valuation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) of 20 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1856W, on council tax: valuation, what use is being made by the Valuation Office Agency of data from Rightmove now that the council tax revaluation in England has been postponed.

John Healey: Information accessible under the terms of the arrangement with Rightmove is being used to ensure that the data held by the Valuation Office Agency are accurate.

Council Tax: Valuation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath of 25 June 2007,  Official Report, column 152W, on council tax: valuation, what each  (a) product and  (b) dataset is that the Valuation Office Agency has a licence to use from Ordnance Survey.

John Healey: The Valuation Office Agency has a license to use the following OS products and datasets:
	1: 10 000 Scale Raster
	1: 25 000 Scale Colour Raster
	1: 50 000 Scale Colour Raster
	1: 250 000 Scale Colour Raster
	1: 50 000 Scale Gazetteer
	Land-Line.Plus®
	OS MasterMap® Topography Layer
	OS MasterMap® Address Layer
	OS MasterMap® Address Layer 2
	OS MasterMap® Integrated Transport Network Layer
	ADDRESS POINT®
	Boundary Line™
	Code Point®
	Code Point® with Polygons
	Land-Form PROFILE®
	Meridian™ 2
	MiniScale®
	Strategi®
	OSCAR Asset Manager®
	OSCAR Traffic Manager®.

Departments: Departmental Policy Advisers

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list each of her Department's special advisers.

Iain Wright: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has two special advisers. They are Andy Bagnall and Paul Richards.

Departments: Departmental Reorganisation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recommendations from the Lifting the Burden Taskforce her Department  (a) has introduced and  (b) plans to introduce.

John Healey: The Lifting Burdens Task Force was established under the chairmanship of Michael Prater, chief executive of Nottingham city council, in July 2006. The Task Force's remit is to identify which central Government information requirements on local government cause the most difficulty on the ground and which add the least value, and recommend to Government action to reduce such burdens.
	The Task Force published its first report on Communities and Local Government's functions Housing and Planning at the end of February 2007. The full Government response was published in May 2007. Following the report, we lifted the requirement on local authorities to report on the following Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs):
	219a Planning: total number of conservation areas in the local authority area
	219c Planning: percentage of conservation areas with published management proposals 214 Homelessness: repeat homelessness
	The Task Force's recommendations on reform of the planning system were broadly accepted and the responses to most were covered in the Planning White Paper published in May. We will consider the recommendation to remove prescriptive requirements for communication as part of the review of the General Development Procedure Order referred to in the Planning White Paper.
	The Task Force published its second report in March 2007, and in response, we removed the requirement for local authorities to report on a further seven BVPIs or parts of BVPIs. We are considering further recommendations from both reports in the context of the new performance framework for local government and the national indicator set which will underpin it, to be introduced from April 2008.

Departments: Departmental Responsibilities

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what responsibilities for regional policy her Department  (a) gained and  (b) lost as a result of the recent machinery of Government changes.

John Healey: The Department for Communities and Local Government's shared (with the former Department for Trade and Industry and HM Treasury) Regional Economic Performance target—to improve sustainable economic performance in all regions by 2008, and over the long term (by 2012) reduce the persistent gap in growth rates between the regions—transferred to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform as part of the recent machinery of Government changes.

Departments: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of people employed by  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies are disabled.

Iain Wright: The latest available data on the disability status of civil servants in Departments and agencies are as at 30 September 2006 and are published in "Civil Service Statistics 2006" at Table P. This document is produced by the Office for National Statistics and can be accessed from the following website addresses.
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=2899&Pos=&ColRank=l&Rank=422
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/2006CivilServiceStatistics.pdf
	Declaration of a disability is voluntary.

Departments: Flint Bishop

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies have made payments to Flint Bishop Solicitors since 1997.

Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government (CLG) and the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) were created following Machinery of Government changes on 5 May 2006 and 29 May 2002, respectively.
	There are no records of any payments to Flint Bishop Solicitors by the central Department or its agencies since May 2002. Details of payments prior to May 2002 could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Departments: Flowers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by her Department on flowers in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: It is not departmental practice to provide cut flowers for office use and so expenditure on this is nil.
	A low level of internal planting within the Communities and Local Government HQ buildings is maintained under our Facilities Management contract. The cost of this is included within the fixed contract price for cleaning, grounds maintenance and pest control and is not separately identifiable. Additionally, new plants have been provided at a cost of £6,100.44 during the period 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007.

Departments: Freedom of Information

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what requests were made to her Department under the  (a) Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2000 and  (b) Environmental Information Regulations between the establishment of the Department and 30 September 2006; and what the (i) FOI case reference number, (ii) request summary, (iii) request outcome and (iv), where appropriate, reason for exemption was in each case.

Iain Wright: The list of requests made to Communities and Local Government under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 between 8 May 2006 and 30 September 2006, together with the other information requested, has been tabulated and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
	This tabulation consists solely of requests handled by the Central Department, and does not include requests made to its Agencies or the Government Office Network.

Departments: IT

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 182-84W, on IT projects, which information technology projects are being undertaken by  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies; what the (i) start date, (ii) original planned completion date, (iii) expected completion date, (iv) originally planned costs and (v) estimated planned costs are of each; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: IT projects undertaken by Communities and Local Government and its agencies are as follows:
	 (a) Communities and Local Government (including Regional Coordination Unit and Government Offices in the Regions).
	
		
			  Project  Start date  Original planned completion date  Expected completion date  Originally planned costs (£000)  Estimated planned costs (£000) 
			 Buynet upgrade to SRM4 March 2007 April 2007 August 2007 96 96 
			 Replacement infrastructure for Peoplesoft HR system November 2006 May 2007 October 2007 537 400 
			 HQ human resources database, further development 4th release—includes Online Performance Management April 2007 October 2007 October 2007 525 525 
			 Government offices human resources database, further development April 2007 March 2008 March 2008 150 150 
			 Government offices Online Performance Management System, further development April 2007 March 2008 March 2008 150 150 
			 FiReControl (regional fire control centres)(1) 2004 2009 2011 120,000 190,000 
			 FireLink(2) June 2002 December 2007 June 2009 350,000 350,000 
			 Fire incident recording system January 2006 December 2006 August 2007 1,300 2,500 
			 Website rationalisation (incorporating Info41ocal rebuild project)(3) December 2005 June 2008 December 2008 3,200 (5)3,600 
			 LINK (new corporate desktop system)(4) February 2005 October 2006 December 2007 2,064 2,064 
			 EDRMS(4) October 2006 December 2006 December 2007 699 699 
			 DCLG corporate web hosting June 2006 March 2007 July 2007 578 660 
			 RSGS replacement July 2006 January 2008 January 2008 737 737 
			 Floor Targets interactive rebuild January 2007 May 2007 August 2007 250 300 
			  Notes:(1) The FiReControl project is principally a business change project with an IT component. (2 )Firelink is a radio communications system project for the Fire and Rescue Service across Great Britain, with an element of IT. (3) A project to rebuild the Info41ocal website was approved in November 2004 at a cost of £244,000. The project was deferred for later incorporation into the Department's Website Rationalisation Project. (4) LINK and EDRMS are two out of three component projects that made up the ITSOP project listed in the Answer published on 4 December 2006. The remaining component—the outsourcing of the Department's IT services—was completed on 31 December 2006. EDRMS is the pilot deployment of electronic document and records management system to selected key users. (5 )Plus 400 for Info41ocal. 
		
	
	 (b) Agencies of the Department.
	Planning Inspectorate have no IT projects currently being undertaken.
	
		
			  Project  Start date  Original planned completion date  Expected completion date  Originally planned costs (£000)  Estimated planned costs (£000) 
			  Fire Service College  
			 FRS Managed Learning Environment January 2006 April 2007 April 2008 5,500 5,500 
			   
			  QEII Conference Centre  
			 Meeting Matrix June 2007 September 2007 September 2007 65 65

Departments: Legislation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  which Bills introduced by her Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  which Bills introduced by her Department in the last five years have contained sunset clauses; and what plans she has for the future use of such clauses.

Hazel Blears: Since the formation of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in May 2002 and subsequently the Department for Communities and Local Government in May 2006, we are aware of one sunset clause in primary legislation for which we have been responsible, namely section 1(7) of the Fire Services Act 2003, which prevents the making of an order (fixing firemen's conditions of service) more than two years after commencement of the Act (on the date of Royal Assent, 13 November 2003) except for an order revoking a previous order.
	The following primary legislation has received Royal Assent since 2002 and has not contained sunset clauses:
	Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004;
	Housing Act 2004;
	Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004;
	Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Act 2006; and
	Housing Corporation (Delegation) etc. Act 2006
	Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007
	Of the Acts currently before Parliament, the GLA Bill does not contain a sunset clause, but the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill does contain a sunset clause (in clause 3) which ensures that the Secretary of State may not give a direction (under clause 2) to an authority to prepare a proposal for unitary local government after 25 January 2008. This sunset clause was introduced by amendment in the Commons in response to concerns of the Local Government Association that the Secretary of State's power to direct would otherwise be too wide. The Secretary of State may therefore only issue a direction under clause 2 from after the enactment and commencement of Part 1 of the Bill (likely to be November 2007) up until 25 January 2008.
	As to the future use of sunset clauses, the appropriateness of a sunset clause for the whole or part of any proposed legislation is considered on a case by case basis. It is also addressed when a regulatory impact assessment relating to legislation is being prepared.

Departments: Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many press officers are employed by her Department.

Iain Wright: As at 1 April 2007 there were 22 press officers in the central Department.

Departments: Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the name is of each special adviser in her Department.

Iain Wright: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has two Special Advisers. They are Andy Bagnall and Paul Richards.

Departments: Ministerial Responsibilities

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list the official duties undertaken by the then Minister of State for Housing and Planning on 23 April.

Yvette Cooper: I attended the 9(th )meeting of the Hertfordshire Housing Conference in St. Albans.

Departments: Press

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to which periodicals her Department subscribes.

Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government have a service level agreement with the Department for Transport to provide library services. Communities and Local Government library service provides periodicals for both Communities and Local Government and for Department for Transport. A list of those periodicals centrally funded has been placed in the Library of the House. Separating those titles solely held for use by Communities and Local Government could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Listings for the periodical holdings of Executive agencies, non-departmental public bodies and Government offices are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Press

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by her Department on newspapers and magazines in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government have a service level agreement with the Department for Transport to provide library services. From 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007, the Communities and Local Government library service spent £25,064 on paper-based publications for Communities and Local Government and for Department for Transport. This included the purchase of newspapers, magazines, annuals and books. Separating out spend relating to newspapers and magazines solely held for use by Communities and Local Government would attract a disproportionate cost.
	Information on expenditure outside this service for the Executive agencies, non-departmental public bodies and Government offices is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Public Appointments

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the change of her Department's Director of Housing.

Yvette Cooper: As part of an internal re-organisation in October 2006, changes were made to the remits of the three director posts dealing with housing issues. The Department does not comment publicly on such changes.

Departments: Railways, Aviation and Taxis

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much was spent by her Department on first class train tickets in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how much was spent by her Department on  (a) business class flights and  (b) first class flights  (c) first class train tickets  (d) taxis in the last 12 months;
	(3)  how much was spent by her Department on taxis in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: The breakdown of information in the format requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the following table sets out the overall expenditure incurred by Communities and Local Government on overseas and domestic travel (for civil servants and Ministers) in the last 12 months.
	
		
			  1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007 
			   £ 
			 Overseas travel and subsistence costs 257,447 
			 Domestic travel and subsistence costs 2,004,632 
		
	
	The figures include all expenditure for travel by air, train, taxi and car as well as subsistence and hotel accommodation costs.
	All travel by civil servants and Ministers of Communities and Local Government is conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code and Travel.

Departments: Recruitment

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department paid in fees to recruitment agencies for  (a) temporary and  (b) permanent staff in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: The Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessors made payments to a number of employment agencies in respect of agency employees during this period but the information requested is not held centrally.
	The Department's policy is to engage temporary agency staff only through competitively negotiated framework contracts which provide value for money for the Department. The central part of the Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessors paid the following amounts to recruitment consultants in relation to permanent staff.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 79,155.54 
			 2005-06 370,232.23 
			 2004-05 462,964.00 
			 2003-04 730,468.33 
			 2002-03 653,845.86 
		
	
	It would cost a disproportionate amount to obtain information prior to 2002-03.

Departments: Training

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff who had previously been seconded to the Deputy Prime Minister's office have received  (a) anti-bullying training and  (b) diversity awareness training since May 2006 following their return to her Department.

Iain Wright: Two senior managers seconded to the Deputy Prime Minister's Office attended the Department's Dignity and Respect Workshop.

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by her Department on staff away days in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: Expenditure related to staff away days is not identified as a separate item on the Department's accounting system, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, any such expenditure could reasonably be expected within the expenditure total for conferences. The total expenditure on conferences for Ministers and civil servants incurred by Communities and Local Government in the period 1 July 2006 to 30 July 2007 was £543,786.
	All expenditure on conferences is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety.

Departments: Tribunals

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by her Department on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Derelict Land

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will publish a list of all surplus public sector land sites that she expects to be used for brownfield development.

Iain Wright: The Register of Surplus Public Sector Land provides a quarterly publication of sites that are owned by central government departments and their agencies. These sites have been identified as available for release for development and details can be accessed via the website at
	http://www.englishpartnerships.co.uk/rspsl.htm
	The Register is managed by English Partnerships and holds details of over 700 sites totalling more than 5,000 ha. The 550 newly identified surplus sites owned by central government departments and their agencies have not yet been placed on the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land managed by English Partnerships. The sites will be placed on the Register in due course.

Derelict Land: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of available brownfield sites was used for the provision of new homes in each of the London boroughs in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: This information requested is not held centrally. However almost all housing development in London takes place on brownfield land (97 per cent. in 2005). Also, the stock of available brownfield land is not static as new sites are coming forward for development all the time. Historically, studies to provide a comprehensive technical analysis of London's potential for future housing growth have been the responsibility of the Mayor of London, or predecessor body, and the boroughs. Regular studies have been undertaken, namely London's Housing Capacity (Greater London Authority, September 2000) and the 2004 London Housing Capacity Study (GLA, July 2005). As a result, housing targets for London have recently been increased, from 23,000 homes per year to 2006-07, to 30,500 homes per year from 2007-08.

Digital Mapping

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans there are to review or revise the Government-wide agreement on digitised mapping services provided by Ordnance Survey.

Parmjit Dhanda: Communities and Local Government are currently running a competitive procurement for a replacement Pan-Government Agreement. It is intended that this will take effect from April 2008.

Empty Property: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many vacant homes there were in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: Estimates for vacant dwellings in each London borough since 2002 are tabulated as follows. These include vacancies up to six months and long-term vacancies over six months. These are as reported by local authorities through the Council Tax Base (CTB1) form and present vacant dwellings receiving some or a full discount on council tax.
	
		
			  Number of  v acancies in London  b oroughs, 2002-06 
			   November 2002  November 2003  November 2004  October 2005  October 2006 
			 London 111,416 102,998 92,597 88,402 86,701 
			   
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,578 1,798 1,623 1,906 2,477 
			 Barnet 5,093 3,512 3,607 3,767 3,486 
			 Bexley 2,064 2,268 2,161 2,157 2,309 
			 Brent 5,559 2,733 3,568 2,762 2,482 
			 Bromley 3,960 4,207 3,825 3,741 3,781 
			 Camden 5,093 3,389 3,049 2,895 2,594 
			 City of London 63 141 165 123 93 
			 Croydon 4,611 4,722 4,647 4,376 4,643 
			 Ealing 3,196 3,308 3,416 2,971 3,024 
			 Enfield 4,350 3,577 4,494 4,301 4,553 
			 Greenwich 3,417 2,922 3,084 3,295 3,530 
			 Hackney 3,783 3,220 3,407 3,626 3,556 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3,015 3,526 2,946 2,588 2,211 
			 Haringey 3,433 3,539 1,966 1,678 1,613 
			 Harrow 2,195 2,462 1,484 1,378 1,143 
			 Havering 2,300 2,407 2,568 2,636 2,617 
			 Hillingdon 2,791 3,009 2,532 2,302 2,148 
			 Hounslow 3,510 1,932 2,125 1,865 1,593 
			 Islington 2,908 4,020 2,677 1,970 1,973 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 4,576 3,308 3,064 2,901 2,678 
			 Kingston upon Thames 2,169 2,333 2,394 1,913 2,181 
			 Lambeth 4,488 5,037 3,291 3,015 4,125 
			 Lewisham 2,832 3,084 n/a n/a 1,454 
			 Merton 2,529 2,593 1,362 2,085 2,084 
			 Newham 3,280 2,535 2,645 3,138 4,047 
			 Redbridge 2,301 2,533 1,992 2,276 2,755 
			 Richmond upon Thames 3,497 3,086 2,166 1,966 1,900 
			 Southwark 3,478 4,973 4,439 2,723 2,830 
			 Sutton 2,285 2,234 2,351 2,643 2,528 
			 Tower Hamlets 5,072 2,669 2,047 2,081 2,492 
			 Waltham Forest 1,984 2,144 2,078 1,924 2,092 
			 Wandsworth 5,202 n/a n/a n/a 1,961 
			 Westminster 4,804 4,544 3,974 3,914 3,748 
			 n/a = information not available.  Note: Figures for London include estimates for missing local authority data.  Source: Council Tax Base (CTB1) return from local authorities.

Equity Sharing: Sales

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) financial and  (b) other incentives (i) Open Market Homebuy agents, (ii) New Build Homebuy agents and (iii) Social Homebuy agents received from selling an equity stake; and whether the level of the incentives varies according to the size of the equity stake purchased by the householder.

Yvette Cooper: The term 'HomeBuy Agents' applies to those registered social landlords that have been appointed by the Housing Corporation to provide a 'One Stop Shop' for all low cost home ownership products funded by the Affordable Housing Programme. The introduction of HomeBuy Agents across the country in April 2006 has streamlined the application process for applicants and provided strict eligibility and affordability checks to ensure value for money for the public purse.
	The financial incentives for registered social landlords to offer our New Build, Open Market and Social HomeBuy products are:
	The availability of Government grant to:
	cover the cost of the Government's equity loan under Open Market HomeBuy;
	cover the discount offered under Social HomeBuy;
	contribute to the cost of developing New Build HomeBuy homes; and
	assist with any associated administrative costs.
	The receipts generated by the sale of shares under New Build and Social HomeBuy. The level of this incentive will vary depending on the size of the share sold. The higher the share sold, the higher the receipt. The original grant must be recycled to provide more affordable homes, the remaining receipt must only be spent on permitted activities.
	The equity appreciation that could be earned on their stake in any low cost home ownership homes they provide.
	The rental income generated by shared ownership sales under New Build HomeBuy and Social Homebuy. Again the level of this incentive will vary according to the size of share sold. The higher the share sold, the lower the rental income.
	The freedom for landlords (this includes local authorities) offering Social HomeBuy to retain receipts for reinvestment in affordable housing to meet current housing needs.
	The availability of alternative sources of subsidy for New Build HomeBuy including on site developer contributions through planning obligations and financial or land contributions from local authorities.
	Other incentives include:
	The ability to introduce tenure mix on estates and contribute to sustainable communities through New Build HomeBuy and Social HomeBuy sales.

Fire Services

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has given to fire authorities and fire brigades on the use of  (a) flashing lights and  (b) sirens when travelling to emergency call-outs.

Parmjit Dhanda: Communities and Local Government have not issued any guidance on the use of flashing lights and sirens to the Fire and Rescue Service as this is an operational matter for individual Chief Officers.

First Time Buyers: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average age of first time buyers was in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: The following table shows the average age of first time buyers for London from 2002-06. Data at the London borough level is unavailable due to small sample sizes.
	
		
			   Median age of first-time buyers in London 
			 2002 30 
			 2003 32 
			 2004 31 
			 2005 30 
			 2006 30 
			  Source:  Regulated Mortgage Survey, sitting tenants excluded

Floods

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Regional Civil Contingencies Committees in tackling the recent flooding incidents.

John Healey: Regional Civil Contingencies Committees (RCCCs) are designed to be implemented in the case when an incident(s) within a Government Office region requires co-ordination at regional level. During the June flooding incidents, this was not necessary as the Strategic Co-ordination Groups within the regions managed the events locally.
	During the recent flooding in Gloucester, the Government Office for the South West (GOSW) set up two meetings of the RCCC on 23 and 24 July. Both provided a useful opportunity for high-level, regional partners to hear about the flooding situation at first hand, to discuss resourcing issues and mutual aid, and to consider consequence management and longer term issues relating to recovery.
	As the situation in Gloucestershire has become less critical, it has been agreed to stand down the RCCC, but with the option of reconvening it should the situation change. Meanwhile, RCCC members are being kept closely in touch with developments by e-mail, and considering ways of supporting the Strategic Co-ordination Group with preparatory work on recovery.
	The effectiveness of the RCCC mechanism during the flooding will be assessed by the independently-led committee that will consider, more broadly, issues identified from these events.

Floods: EU Grants and Loans

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether any region in the UK has received aid from the European Commission Solidarity Fund for  (a) flood damage and  (b) other reasons in the last five years.

John Healey: In the last year no region of the UK has received aid from the European Commission Solidarity Fund in respect of either flood or other damage.

Floods: EU Grants and Loans

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to request aid from the European Commission Solidarity Fund for areas affected by flood damage.

John Healey: No such application has yet been made as we are currently collecting all the information necessary for us to assess the full financial effect of the damage before considering whether such an application could meet the strict criteria laid down for mobilising the Fund.

Floods: North Yorkshire

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what expenditure by councils affected by recent flooding in North Yorkshire will be covered by the Bellwin formula.

John Healey: Authorities who notify the Department of their intention to claim Bellwin grant within one month of the commencement of the emergency will, under the established terms of the scheme, be able to claim grant for all eligible expenditure incurred on immediate action to safeguard life or property or to prevent severe inconvenience to the inhabitants, as set out in the legislation governing the scheme. On this occasion, as announced by the Prime Minister on 7 July, 100 per cent. grant will be paid on expenditure in excess of 0.2 per cent. of the authority's revenue budget, an increase on the normal 85 per cent. grant aid. Eligible expenditure up to six months from the commencement of the incident will count for grant, compared to the normal limit of two months.

Floods: Tewkesbury

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding she expects to be made available to  (a) agencies and  (b) individuals who have been affected by the recent flooding in the Tewkesbury constituency; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Prime Minister on 25 July 2007,  Official Report, column 832.

Floods: Tewkesbury

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what application is planned to be made to access money from the European Union to help  (a) agencies and  (b) individuals who have been affected by the recent flooding in Tewkesbury constituency; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: holding answer 26 July 2007
	No such application has yet been made as we are currently collecting all the information necessary for us to assess the full financial effect of the damage caused by the June and July floods before deciding whether such an application could meet the strict criteria laid down for mobilising the Fund.

Home Information Packs

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many part-time qualified and accredited home inspectors she expects there to be in each of the next three years; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: It is estimated that about 40 per cent. of home inspectors and domestic energy assessors will work part time. This has been taken into consideration in the Government's plan for the roll-out of Home Information Packs.

Home Information Packs

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2007,  Official Report, column 2103W, on home information packs, when the research will be published.

Yvette Cooper: This research is being updated in light of the changes to the implementation announced on 22 May and will be published in due course.

Home Information Packs

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many qualified home improvement pack inspectors there are, broken down by region; how many qualified inspectors she expects there to be on 1 August; and how many inspectors will be needed to inspect homes with  (a) four or more bedrooms and  (b) three or more bedrooms on 1 August.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the dedicated Home Information Packs website for the most recently published national numbers of accredited assessors, together with a regional breakdown:
	http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/industry/l63_Assessorinspectornums.html
	We will be providing regular updates on this site.
	There is already a sufficient number of assessors to introduce Home Information Packs and Energy Performance Certificates for four-bedroom properties and larger on 1 August 2008. The implementation update published on 11 June, a copy of which was placed in the House Library, states the criteria which will be used for the roll out of packs to other sized properties.

Home Information Packs

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department's latest estimate is of the average cost of a home information pack, including VAT, for residents of the South West Government Office Region; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: An estimate of the cost of producing a Home Information Pack is set out in the Impact Assessment published on 11 June.

Home Information Packs

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what definition she uses of  (a) bedrooms,  (b) studies,  (c) lofts and  (d) bathrooms in relation to home information packs.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 23 July 2007
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) on 25 June 2007  Official  R eport, column 164W.

Home Information Packs

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the annual level of expected non-compliance with the home information pack provisions.

Yvette Cooper: We have put in place a robust enforcement regime to deal with those who do not comply with the new requirements. The Housing Act 2004 makes it clear that the responsibility to obtain a Home Information Pack is on the person responsible for marketing the property.

Homelessness

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in  (a) Leeds,  (b) West Yorkshire and  (c) England are estimated to be homeless; and how many are under 16 years of age in each case.

Iain Wright: holding answer 23 July 2007
	Information about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is collected quarterly at local authority level, in respect of households rather than people.
	Information reported each quarter includes the number of households accepted by local authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty. The duty owed to an accepted household is to secure suitable accommodation. If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority may secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available.
	This data is published in our quarterly statistical release on statutory homelessness, which includes a supplementary table showing the breakdown of key data, including acceptances and temporary accommodation, by each local authority, including Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield. This is published on our website and placed in the Library each quarter. The latest release was published on 11 June 2007 and contains data for the period January to March 2007:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1002882&PressNoticeID=2438.
	Since 1998, information has also been collected on the number of people who sleep rough—that is, those who are literally roofless on a single night—and these are also published on our website, by local authority:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/705/NationalRoughSleepingEstimate2006_id1502705.xls.
	Local authorities do not specifically report data on the number under 16-year-olds affected by statutory homelessness.

Homelessness

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes her Department has made to funding to local authorities on homeless prevention revenue support in the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: The level of homelessness revenue funding to local authorities and voluntary sector agencies has increased by 23 per cent. from £60 million in 2004-05 to £74 million in 2007-08, to support them in their work on tackling and preventing homelessness effectively.
	No changes have been made to the way funding is allocated to local authorities and voluntary sector agencies.

Homelessness: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were sleeping rough in each London borough  (a) in each of the last five years and  (b) the most recent period for which figures area available.

Iain Wright: The following table provides a breakdown of the level of rough sleeping in each London borough in each of the last five years. Data is taken from Housing Strategy and Statistical Appendix returns submitted by local authorities.
	
		
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Barking and Dagenham 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Barnet 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bexley 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Brent 4 0 6 1 0 
			 Bromley 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Camden 28 13 5 17 10 
			 City 41 36 22 12 25 
			 Croydon 6 0 0 0 0 
			 Ealing 4 0 4 1 1 
			 Enfield 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Greenwich 3 0 0 0 0 
			 Hackney 11 7 8 7 6 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 4 2 3 2 6 
			 Haringey 8 6 4 6 1 
			 Harrow 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Havering 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Hillingdon 0 0 0 3 0 
			 Hounslow 3 0 0 3 3 
			 Islington 2 7 1 3 3 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 6 6 10 12 10 
			 Kingston upon Thames 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lambeth 12 11 12 7 9 
			 Lewisham 1 0 0 3 3 
			 Merton 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Newham 0 6 3 0 0 
			 Redbridge 5 5 0 0 0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 6 6 0 0 0 
			 Southwark 2 17 6 7 6 
			 Sutton 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Tower Hamlets 2 11 5 0 3 
			 Waltham Forest 4 1 1 2 6 
			 Wandsworth 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Westminster 169 133 175 133 173 
			   
			 London 321 267 265 221 267

Households: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the average age of household formation by  (a) males and  (b) females over the last five years, broken down by London borough.

Iain Wright: This information can be provided for England only as a whole.
	Estimates of the average age of the main householder when his/her household was formed are set out in the table. The figures include households from all types of housing tenure—owner occupiers, social renters and private renters.
	
		
			  Average age of main householder( 1)  when he/she formed a new householder when he/she formed a new household 
			  Survey year  Male householder  Female householder 
			 2001-02 28 27 
			 2002-03 29 25 
			 2003-04 29 27 
			 2004-05 28 26 
			 2005-06 28 26 
			 (1) The main householder is the sole owner or tenant. If there are joint owners or tenants then the main householder is the person with the higher income. If the incomes are the same then the older of the two is the main householder.  Source: Survey of English Housing.

Housing

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many units of  (a) social rented housing and  (b) shared ownership and intermediate housing were (i) projected and (ii) started in each English region in each of the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the number of starts of sites through the Housing Corporation's affordable housing programme and starter home initiative for social rented housing and low cost home ownership including intermediate housing by region for 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 and estimated numbers for 2006-7 and 2007-8. Starts on site are projected for each region and reviewed several times in the year.
	The timing of developments means that numbers can fluctuate from one year to the next. Plans have been set out in the Housing Green Paper for a substantial increase in affordable housing over the next three years in every region.
	
		
			  Starts on site by region (units) 
			   Actual  Estimated 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  Region  n ame  LCHO  RENT  LCHO  RENT  LCHO  RENT  LCHO  RENT  LCHO  RENT 
			 Eastern 310 1,941 955 2,575 1,169 1,829 1,450 4,039 981 2,327 
			 East Midlands 342 891 858 1,171 823 1,328 1,034 1,368 524 678 
			 London 3,731 6,090 5,110 6,051 4,163 5,189 4,327 6,559 2,617 5,693 
			 North East 51 645 36 907 126 585 160 852 23 220 
			 North West 419 1,660 620 1,637 716 1,396 660 1,619 333 397 
			 South East 2,713 4,232 3,342 3,139 2,503 2,750 2,258 5,910 1,581 4,050 
			 South West 433 2,748 872 1,904 1,056 1,768 960 2,886 757 2,121 
			 West Midlands 283 1,598 651 1,747 576 710 875 1,811 477 1,025 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 65 1,312 176 1,225 287 1,488 500 1,203 396 908 
			  Source: Housing Corporation

Housing Corporation: Manpower

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff funded by the Housing Corporation are classified as without posts.

Iain Wright: On 30 June 2007 there were 14 staff in the Housing Corporation without a permanent post. There is a strategy in place to reduce this number to nil as the year progresses. All staff concerned remain effectively engaged in delivering key objectives set out in The Housing Corporation 2007-09 Corporate Plan.

Housing: Construction

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of the 240,000 houses which are planned to be built per year by 2016 she expects to be built by  (a) the private sector,  (b) housing associations and  (c) local authorities in each year until 2016.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 23 July 2007
	We have published a Housing Green Paper which sets out the Government's plans for the level of affordable housing to be delivered in the years covered by the Comprehensive Spending Review, and the roles of housing associations and local authorities in delivering that.

Housing: Construction

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the regional distribution is of her plans to increase the building target from 200,000 houses a year to 240,000 a year.

Yvette Cooper: Government have made clear that improving the supply of housing is a national priority. There is pressure on housing affordability in all parts of the country.
	We have today published a Housing Green Paper that sets out further details of our proposals. This includes invitations to local authorities to come forward with proposals for further growth points and views on potential eco-town locations.
	The detail of where additional housing will be located is a matter for regional and local planning processes and functions.

Housing: Construction

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many more dwellings will be built on green belt land as a consequence of the increase in building target to 240,000 dwellings a year.

Hazel Blears: As the Planning White Paper "Planning for a Sustainable Future (Cm 7120)", made clear, and the Housing Green Paper "Homes for the Future (Cm 7191)" confirmed, we are committed to the principles of the Green Belt and will make no fundamental change to Green Belt planning policy, as set out in Planning Policy Guidance note 2.
	There remains a general presumption against inappropriate development in the Green Belt. Development in the Green Belt should not be approved except in very special circumstances.
	In 2005 less than 1 per cent. of all new dwellings were built on greenfield Green Belt land.

Housing: Cornwall

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many units of social housing were sold to the private market in  (a) England and  (b) Cornwall in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: holding answer 24 July 2007
	The numbers of council homes sold through the right to buy scheme in 2005-06 by local authority area can be viewed on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/383/Table648_id1156383.xls
	Figures for 2006/07 are not yet available.
	Sales of homes owned by registered social landlords are monitored by the Housing Corporation through the continuous recording (CORE) system. Sales by local authority area can be viewed on the CORE web site at:
	http://www.core.ac.uk/core/hala-annual-reports.html#geosales.

Housing: Energy

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of homes will require an Energy Performance Certificate to confirm the home's energy efficiency and to indicate its environmental performance by  (a) 2010 and  (b) 2020.

Yvette Cooper: An estimate of the number of energy performance certificates required each year to 2020 is included in the Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007.

Housing: Flood Control

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what account is taken of land deemed unsafe to build on due to flooding risk within a larger development plot when calculating planned housing and population densities; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 19 July 2007
	Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 3 "Housing" requires local planning authorities to identify specific sites which will deliver their housing numbers. In assessing what sites are suitable for inclusion in their plans, local planning authorities will need to consider PPS 25 "Development and Flood Risk" which ensures that flood risk is taken into account at all stages in the planning process to avoid inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding, and to direct development away from areas at highest risk. Sites which do not meet the requirements of PPS3 and PPS25 should not be considered as suitable for housing use.

Housing: Flood Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will prepare and publish a guidance plan for householders on the action to take in the event of flooding covering  (a) the use of sandbags,  (b) the use of skips and  (c) insurance.

John Healey: There is already a range of guidance available for householders on the action to take in the event of flooding.
	For example, the guide "Preparing for floods" is available from the Planning Portal (www.planningportal.gov.uk) and provides guidance to property owners on how they can improve the flood resistance of their properties. It is also intended for use by developers, local planning authorities and others involved in construction of new buildings, and renovation of existing buildings, at risk of flooding.
	The Environment Agency has also produced specific guidance on the use of sandbags with the Local Government Association. However in many cases there are better solutions for protecting domestic properties than sandbags such as floodboards and airbrick covers. Guidance on preparing for flooding and flood protection products is available on the Environment Agency's website
	www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/flood.
	Following the recent floods we have been working closely with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and have sent out information to flood affected local authorities on where people can go for free independent advice on insurance matters. Further information is also available on the ABI website (www.abi.org.uk/floodinfo) and the Financial Services Authority website
	www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk.
	Looking to the future, on 12 July 2007 the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced a review to look at how the recent floods were managed and responded to by the Environment Agency, local authorities, the emergency services and others. One of the specific objectives of the review will be
	"to ensure the public has as much access as possible to information on the risk of flooding to allow them to take appropriate precautions, be adequately informed on developments as an emergency unfolds, and be looked after properly in the immediate aftermath."
	We would expect that proposals on guidance plans for householders in the event of flooding will be considered as part of the review. We aim to publish the initial findings of the review by the end of the year and subsequently a formal Government report.

Housing: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many homes have been built for key workers in London under the  (a) intermediate rent,  (b) homebuy new build and  (c) mixed funded for sale programmes; how many have been (i) sold and (ii) let under each programme; and what the (A) average and (B) longest time has been that a home in each programme has remained empty;
	(2)  what percentage of homes built for key workers in London have been sold to key workers in each year since the inception of key worker homes.

Yvette Cooper: The Government offer housing assistance to key workers under the Key Worker Living (KWL) scheme in areas experiencing severe recruitment and retention difficulties. Key Worker Living funding is divided between Open Market HomeBuy (equity loans to purchase properties on the open market) and new build products such as New Build HomeBuy (shared ownership of newly built homes) and intermediate rent (newly built homes where the rent is set at a level between that charged by social and private landlords).
	The number of newly built homes only available for, and sold or let to, key workers in London since the launch of KWL in 2004 is provided in the following table. We do not have the figures requested on an annual basis.
	The table shows that, of the units that had not been sold or let, 58 were under offer from key workers, 608 had been marketed to key workers for less than three months and 170 had been marketed to key workers for between three and six months. It normally takes between three and six months to market and sell a unit. So to date, 67 per cent. of new build homes only available to key workers under Key Worker Living have been sold or let to key workers.
	
		
			  Key Worker Living in London 2004-05 lo 2006-07 
			  Programme  Available for KWs only  Marketed for three months or less  Marketed for between three to six months  Under  o ffer  Sold/Let to key workers 
			 Intermediate rent 980 217 34 4 725 
			 KWL shared ownership (Mixed funded sale) 1,523 391 136 54 941 
			 Total 2,502 608 170 58 1,666 
			  Source: Housing Corporation 
		
	
	Since the introduction of the New Build HomeBuy product in April 2006, we no longer fund specific key worker only schemes. Instead key workers access our New Build HomeBuy programme as a priority group alongside other priorities such as social tenants. Any key worker specific schemes yet to complete will have been funded under old shared ownership programmes.
	In addition to the numbers in the table above, we have helped 4,982 key workers in London through our KWL Open Market HomeBuy scheme and 4,168 key workers in London through the Starter Home Initiative (SHI). SHI was the predecessor to KWL and ran from 2001-2004. The majority of SHI completions were as Open Market HomeBuy, with a small number of newly built units that were grant funded via an equity loan for the purchaser.
	Since the launch of KWL the Housing Corporation has been collecting data on when the construction of a scheme has been completed and when the final unit has been occupied. The purpose of this data is to actively manage the portfolio of new build properties and take action to prevent long term voids—it does not permit us to produce an average of the time it takes from completion of construction to occupation of individual units.
	Responsibility for marketing and sale of the units lies with Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and Homebuy Agents. The longest period of time that a unit built exclusively for key workers on our intermediate rent and shared ownership schemes has been unoccupied is 12 months and 20 months respectively. The former property remained unoccupied for this amount of time due to delays as a result of prospective tenants dropping out which meant that the property had to be remarketed. The latter property remained unoccupied as a result of legal issues, which were only recently resolved. These were exceptional circumstances and the Department has made clear to RSLs operating the scheme that speedy action needs to be taken when legal or other problems arise.
	At present there are no properties available exclusively for key workers that have been unsold for more than six months.

Housing: Hampshire

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many council owned houses have been built for rent in each  (a) district and  (b) unitary council area in Hampshire since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: There have been no reported local authority dwellings built in Hampshire local authorities and unitary authorities since 1997.
	Between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 2006, the following units of affordable housing (social rent and intermediate (e.g. low cost home ownership)) were built or acquired by Registered Social Landlords on behalf of Hampshire local authorities and the unitary authorities of Portsmouth and Southampton.
	
		
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Portsmouth UA 236 201 190 205 295 153 — 130 304 
			 Southampton UA 296 330 231 280 160 317 257 301 301 
			 Hampshire 1,612 1,361 991 913 1,058 949 1,602 1,396 1,219 
			 Basingstoke and Deane 426 299 223 122 260 220 459 269 252 
			 East Hampshire 160 68 131 105 118 61 256 131 86 
			 Eastleigh 193 148 114 79 59 60 177 260 75 
			 Fareham 55 103 67 111 58 44 31 63 8 
			 Gosport 143 66 20 67 3 75 118 76  
			 Hart 86 42 112 40 38 98 142 230 132 
			 Havant 128 178 73 91 114 111 96 27 142 
			 New Forest 155 170 144 152 210 63 119 76 145 
			 Rushmoor 203 214 46 46 93 94 197 130 234 
			 Test Valley 63 73 61 100 76 195 50 92 69 
			  Source:  Statistical returns from local authorities, Housing Corporation

Housing: Infrastructure

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what requirements for  (a) road,  (b) water drainage and  (c) sewerage infrastructure apply in respect of planning applications for new housing developments.

Yvette Cooper: General requirements on these matters are set out in planning policy documents issued by Government and by individual local planning authorities. Planning authorities should, in working out where within their areas development should go, discuss with infrastructure providers what standards are needed. This should mean that when plans are adopted they are fully deliverable not only in terms of housing development but also in terms of the supporting infrastructure.
	For particular developments the requirements are likely to be arrived at by a process of negotiation, taking account of the particular circumstances. A prospective developer may find it helpful to have pre-application discussions with the local planning authority and to consult the relevant statutory undertakers.

Housing: Inspections

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will name each of the accreditation bodies for  (a) home inspectors and  (b) domestic energy inspectors.

Yvette Cooper: To date three Home Inspectors Certification schemes have been approved, along with nine domestic energy accreditation schemes.
	Home Inspectors Certification Schemes; BRE: RICS and SAVA.
	Domestic Energy Accreditation Schemes: BRE; EPC Direct; EPC Ltd; Elmhurst; HIeu Ltd; Northgate; Quidos; NES; RICS.

Housing: Inspections

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what legal advice her Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) received on home information packs and liability for compensation for home inspectors and energy inspectors.

Yvette Cooper: The Department does not disclose any legal advice or whether or not it has sought or obtained it due to the fact that it is subject to legal professional privilege.

Housing: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes were built in each year since 1997 in each Leeds parliamentary constituency, broken down by those built  (a) to buy,  (b) to rent privately,  (c) as part of housing associations and  (d) by local authorities.

Yvette Cooper: Information on new house building is collected at local authority level only. The numbers of new homes built in Leeds local authority area are tabulated. It is not possible to distinguish between owner occupied and private rent. The numbers of affordable homes built for Registered Social Landlords are for social rent or intermediate housing (e.g. low cost home ownership). The local authority figures are new build for social rent.
	Not all affordable housing supply is through new build completions, supply can also come from the acquisition and refurbishment of private sector homes. Between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 2006 there were an additional 637 affordable homes supplied by Registered Social Landlords, on behalf of Leeds local authority, which are not shown in the table. Figures for 2006-07 are not yet available.
	
		
			  House building completions: Leeds 
			   All private sector completions( 1)  Registered Social Landlord( 2 ) (affordable)  Local authority( 1)  (social rent)  Total new build completions 
			 1997-98 1,034 404 16 1,454 
			 1998-99 1,196 262 1 1,459 
			 1999-2000 1,698 254 0 1,952 
			 2000-01 1,855 129 0 1,984 
			 2001-02 1,589 339 0 1,928 
			 2002-03 1,748 254 0 2,002 
			 2003-04 2,829 119 0 2,948 
			 2004-05 2,852 271 0 3,123 
			 2005-06 2,821 408 0 3,229 
			  Sources: (1) P2 house building returns from local authorities and National House-Building Council. (2) Housing Corporation.

Housing: Low Incomes

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many units of accommodation for key workers were  (a) provided and  (b) unoccupied in each year for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 22 May 2007
	The Government offer housing assistance to key workers under the Key Worker Living (KWL) scheme in areas experiencing severe recruitment and retention difficulties. Key Worker Living funding is divided between Open Market HomeBuy (equity loans to purchase properties on the open market) and new build products such as New Build HomeBuy (shared ownership of newly built homes) and intermediate rent (newly built homes where the rent is set at a level between that charged by social and private landlords).
	As at March 2007, 5,845 newly built homes had been made available for key workers only in London, South East and Eastern regions through the Key Worker Living programme, of which 4,577 have been sold/let with a further 268 under offer. Of the 1,000 homes currently being marketed to key workers, 800 of these have been completed only in the last three months and a further 200 homes have been marketed for three to six months. It normally takes between three and six months to market and sell a unit. None of the properties currently available for key workers have remained unsold for more than six months.
	The number of newly built homes only available for, and sold or let to, key workers since the launch of KWL in 2004 is provided in the following table. We do not have the figures requested on an annual basis.
	
		
			  Programme  Available to KWs only  Unoccupied (marketed) for three months or less  Unoccupied (marketed) for between three and six months  Under offer  Sold/let to key workers 
			 Intermediate rent 2,644 231 36 12 2,365 
			 KWL shared ownership (mixed funded sale) 3,201 569 164 256 2,212 
			 Total 5,845 800 200 268 4,577

Housing: Low Incomes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what liability tenants with an equity stake under the Social Homebuy scheme have to meet all or part of the costs of repairs for that dwelling;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the effect on the take-up rate of the Social Homebuy scheme of tenants purchasing an equity stake assuming financial responsibility for all maintenance costs;
	(3)  what liability a tenant has for freehold-related maintenance costs if they purchase an equity stake in a leasehold property under the Social Homebuy scheme.

Yvette Cooper: I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member on 30 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1518W.
	Housing association and local authority tenants who purchase a share in a house are responsible for all repairs and redecoration both internally and externally. Purchasers buying a share in a flat will be responsible for internal repairs and will contribute a share of the costs incurred by their landlord in maintaining the building and common parts. Details are set out in their shared ownership lease.
	The Social HomeBuy pilot scheme is running until March 2008 and is subject to an ongoing independent evaluation. Initial indications from early participants are that responsibility for all maintenance may contribute to affordability and sustainability issues, particularly for tenants purchasing smaller shares. The Government are exploring various options for improving affordability for tenants.

Housing: Low Incomes

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were built in  (a) Cornwall,  (b) the South West and  (c) England in each year since 1997; and what percentage this represented of all houses built in each area and year.

Yvette Cooper: Information is not readily available in the format requested.
	The numbers of new build completions are shown in table A and the total supply of affordable housing is shown in table B. Since affordable housing provision includes new build and acquisitions they are not directly comparable with the total new build only figures used in this draft and it would not be appropriate to calculate percentages.
	Cornwall is defined as the local districts of Caradon, Carrick, Kerrier, North Cornwall, Penwith, Restormel and the Isles of Scilly.
	
		
			  A: Total New Build completions in England, South West and Cornwall local authorities 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 England 149,555 140,708 142,046 133,255 129,866 137,739 143,958 155,893 163,398 
			 South West 19,003 15,825 15,892 14,972 15,598 15,729 15,984 17,411 18,761 
			 Cornwall 1,513 1,918 1,800 2,094 1,983 1,851 1,681 1,688 1,623 
			  Source:  P2 Housing building returns as reported by local authorities 
		
	
	
		
			  B: Affordable Housing Provision (New Build and Acquisitions) in England, South West and Cornwall local authorities 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 England 47,269 42,312 33,718 32,156 32,143 32,063 37,064 36,000 44,861 
			 South West 5,287 4,577 3,926 3,500 3,397 3,308 3,749 3,470 4,647 
			 Cornwall 545 591 307 424 300 321 334 260 432 
			  Source:  Statistical returns from local authorities, Housing Corporation

Housing: Low Incomes

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans the Government has to increase the supply of affordable housing in places where the cost of housing is relatively high.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 12 July 2007
	The Prime Minister has announced plans to raise the annual housing supply target for 2016 from 200,000 to 240,000 additional homes a year.
	We have published a Housing Green Paper that sets out further details of our proposals, including Government's plans for the level of affordable housing to be delivered in the years covered by the Comprehensive Spending Review.
	The detail of where additional affordable housing will be located is a matter for regional and local planning processes and functions.

Housing: Low Incomes

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will hold discussions with church authorities on the potential sale of church land for affordable housing.

Yvette Cooper: Officials would be happy to enter into discussions with church authorities about the potential for the development of affordable housing on their vacant or surplus sites.

Housing: Low Incomes

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to provide regeneration funding to allow local authorities to  (a) acquire existing and  (b) build new affordable housing for rent; what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on this subject; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Proposals to increase the supply of affordable housing were set out in the Housing Green Paper. These include proposals to strengthen the role of local authorities in meeting local housing needs.

Housing: Low Incomes

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn) of 6 June 2007,  Official Report, column 535W, on housing: low incomes, if she will  (a) encourage and  (b) help facilitate local authorities to increase the number of social rented homes they provide directly; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Proposals to increase the supply of social rented homes are set out in the Housing Green Paper. These include proposals to strengthen the role of local authorities in meeting local housing needs.

Housing: Low Incomes

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to increase the availability of affordable housing in  (a) Suffolk and  (b) the East of England.

Yvette Cooper: In 2006-07 we delivered the following number of affordable homes:
	
		
			   2006-07  2007-08 
			 Suffolk 709 802 
			 East of England 4,373 5,799 
		
	
	The Housing Green Paper set out proposals to increase housing and also affordable housing in every region. Further details of the regional breakdown of investment will be set out later in the year.

Housing: Low Incomes

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were built in Suffolk in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: The number of new build affordable dwellings built on behalf of Suffolk local authorities since 1997-98 is in the following table. Affordable dwellings are defined as social rent and intermediate housing e.g. low cost home ownership.
	
		
			   Number of dwellings 
			 1997-98 366 
			 1998-99 250 
			 1999-2000 251 
			 2000-01 297 
			 2001-02 301 
			 2002-03 396 
			 2003-04 363 
			 2004-05 266 
			 2005-06 635 
			  Source: Housing Corporation 
		
	
	New build registered social landlord and council dwellings only make up part of the affordable supply, the remainder being acquired by registered social landlords. Between 1997-98 and 2005-06, acquisitions by registered social landlords numbered 1,737, taking the total affordable housing provision in Suffolk to 4,862 over the period.
	Suffolk is defined as the local authorities of Babergh, Forest Heath, Ipswich, Mid Suffolk, St. Edmundsbury, Suffolk Coastal and Waveney.

Housing: Low Incomes

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to increase the availability of affordable housing in the south east.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 23 July 2007
	We have published a Housing Green Paper which sets out the Government's plans for the level of affordable housing to be delivered in the years covered by the Comprehensive Spending Review.
	Regional assemblies will be asked for their advice on housing spending priorities in their areas. This will include levels of spend on different elements of the National Affordable Housing Programme and spatial distribution. This advice will be provided in the context of work which has already been done by the regional assemblies as part of the preparation of Regional Spatial Strategies in their role as regional planning bodies

Housing: Low Incomes

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will put restrictions on the re-sale of the £60,000 starter homes launched by the former Deputy Prime Minister to avoid profiteering and retain the houses in the affordable homes market.

Yvette Cooper: The Design for Manufacture competition was run by English Partnerships (EP) on behalf of Communities and Local Government. The aim of the competition was to deliver more than 1,100 high quality, well designed homes on ten publicly owned sites for a construction cost of £60,000 per unit. In order to ensure mixed communities, the homes will provide a mix of accommodation under a variety of tenures: affordable rent, shared ownership and private sale at full market value. The aspiration is to reach 50 per cent. affordable housing of all tenures across the 10 sites, significantly higher than the percentage of affordable housing achieved through section 106 agreements.
	The homes for affordable rent will be transferred into the ownership of the registered social landlord (RSL) partnering the preferred developer on each site and will not therefore be offered for sale. The remaining affordable homes will be available for those who qualify for shared ownership arrangements, either through the First Time Buyers Initiative operated by EP or through the Homebuy scheme operated by RSLs. Should the purchaser under the shared ownership arrangements take the decision to sell, EP and the RSL have the right of first refusal to buy back the home. Should they not exercise this right, they would in any case benefit from any uplift in value on the proportion of the equity which they retain when the home is sold on.
	The homes for private sale are being sold at full market value and will not therefore be subject to any restriction upon re-sale.

Housing: Low Incomes

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recommendations from the Cave Review of Social Housing she plans to implement.

Yvette Cooper: The Government published their response to the Cave Review on 19 June 2007 in "Delivering Housing and Regeneration—Communities England and the Future of Social Housing Regulation".

Housing: Low Incomes

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many social tenants are eligible for  (a) social homebuy,  (b) the right to buy and  (c) the right to acquire.

Yvette Cooper: Social homebuy is a voluntary scheme and information on the number of households who are eligible for the scheme is not available. 78 registered social landlords and seven local authorities are currently piloting the scheme. Some landlords are offering the scheme widely across their stock. Others are targeting specific estates, locations or local authority areas.
	The right to buy is available to eligible secure tenants of local authorities and registered social landlords (RSLs). The number of dwellings owned and let by local authorities is just over two million. However, no information is available on the number of tenants who are eligible for the right to buy.
	Assured tenants of housing associations who were transferred with their homes from local authorities have a preserved right to buy—approximately one million dwellings to date.
	Approximately 200,500 RSL tenants may qualify for the right to acquire scheme introduced by the Housing Act 1996 because their homes have been built with public funds since 1 April 1997. Tenants of homes transferred from local authorities after the same date may also qualify for the right to acquire scheme, including those tenants who retain a preserved right to buy.

Housing: Low Incomes

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her most recent estimate is of the average capital value of a house under the  (a) social homebuy,  (b) new build homebuy and  (c) open market homebuy schemes.

Yvette Cooper: The average capital value of a house bought under the three homebuy schemes is:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Social homebuy pilots 155,000 
			 New build homebuy 168,789 
			 Open market homebuy 156,510 
		
	
	This is the full value of the property, regardless of the size of the share bought.

Housing: Low Incomes

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many housing starts there were in each local planning authority in England in each of the last three years.

Iain Wright: A table showing the number of starts in each local authority in England for the last three years has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Figures are based on building control inspections as reported by each local authority on the quarterly P2 return to Communities and Local Government. New build starts as reported by the National House Building Council are added to provide a measure of overall activity. Local authority figures presented are as reported and do not include estimates where local authority returns are missing.

Housing: Low Incomes

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many key workers in  (a) the UK,  (b) the South West and  (c) Weston-Super-Mare have received assistance through the Key Worker Living Programme.

Yvette Cooper: Since April 2004, 15,438 key workers have been helped into a new home through the Key Worker Living (KWL) programme in England. KWL only operates in London, South East and East of England. Therefore, no key workers have received assistance through the KWL programme in Weston-Super-Mare or the South West of England.
	However key workers on low to modest incomes outside the KWL regions can receive help through the Government's wider HomeBuy programme which enables first time buyers to buy a share of a home and get a first step on the housing ladder. We do not hold data centrally on how many key workers have been helped through this route.

Housing: Low Incomes

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress the Government has made towards fulfilling its commitment to help 30,000 key workers into home ownership by 2010 through the Key Worker Living Programme as set out by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in Sustainable Communities: Homes for All in 2005.

Yvette Cooper: Since April 2005, we have assisted 10,862 key workers, through the Key Worker Living Programme. We are on track to delivering our commitment to help 30,000 key workers to find a home from 2005 to 2010.

Housing: Low Incomes

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department has guaranteed commercial lenders participating in the Open Market Homebuy scheme against falling house prices.

Yvette Cooper: The Open Market HomeBuy product which is provided in partnership with lenders, enables purchasers to buy a property on the open market with the help of two 12.5 per cent. equity loans, one from Government and one from a lender. If house prices fall, and the property is sold, the proceeds of the sale are used to firstly pay off the balance of the mortgage and then the value of the lender's equity loan. For three of the participating lenders this will be the original value of the equity loan, as they do not share in a fall in value. For one lender the loan will have fallen in value to reflect the fall in value of the property.
	If the house price has fallen dramatically, then the proceeds of the sale may not cover all of these debts. If the proceeds are not sufficient to pay off the lender's conventional mortgage and equity loan then they have 'recourse' to the borrower. This means that the borrower is still in debt to the lender after the property is sold.
	Government, however, do not have recourse to the borrower. This means that if there are not sufficient proceeds from the sale, Government are not paid and cannot recover the debt from the borrower. This means that Open Market HomeBuy purchasers are less vulnerable to negative equity than those with a purely conventional mortgage.

Housing: Low Incomes

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department and its agencies are taking to lever more private finance into the social housing sector.

Yvette Cooper: The Government have recently published two documents that set out its plans to lever in more private finance to the social housing sector. First the consultation paper Delivering Housing and Regeneration: Communities England and the future of social housing; and second the Housing Green Paper—Homes for the future: more affordable, more sustainable.
	In addition, The Housing Corporation, in their publication "Unlocking the Door: Delivering more homes from the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007", concluded that there is additional financial capacity within the Housing Association sector and scope for efficiency savings. Housing Associations themselves believe that savings that absorb likely land and build cost inflation of 6 per cent. annually are possible over the next three years.

Housing: Overcrowding

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to bring forward proposals for a new statutory definition of overcrowding.

Yvette Cooper: The Government will set out further proposals on overcrowding later in the year. We have invested over £40 million in London pilot schemes to provide innovative solutions to some of the worst cases of overcrowding and have made the provision of new social housing a priority in the comprehensive spending review.

Housing: Parking

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes the Planning Policy Statement has made to the  (a) minimum and  (b) maximum amount of car parking allowed in new residential developments.

Yvette Cooper: Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3) does not prescribe car parking standards or limits for residential development. Local authorities should set their own residential parking policies, taking account of expected levels of car ownership, the importance of promoting good design and the need to use land efficiently.

Housing: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many properties were  (a) bought and  (b) part-bought in (i) the Peterborough city council area and (ii) Peterborough constituency under the Government's Homebuy scheme in each year since 2001; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many new affordable houses were built in Peterborough unitary authority area in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the total number of properties purchased under low cost home ownership schemes in each of the last five years for the area covered by Peterborough city council. This information is not held on a constituency basis.
	The shared ownership schemes (currently known as New Build HomeBuy) have allowed applicants buy a share of a property (from 25 per cent. to 75 per cent.) and pay rent to a housing association on the remaining share which they do not own.
	
		
			   Shared ownership  Shared equity 
			  Peterborough   
			 2002-03 0 7 
			 2003-04 4 5 
			 2004-05 6 12 
			 2005-06 35 20 
			 2006-07(1) 40 4 
			 (1) Provisional.  Source: Housing Corporation. 
		
	
	The shared equity schemes (currently known as Open Market HomeBuy) have enabled people to buy a property on the open market with the help of equity loans. Under the current scheme purchasers buy the property outright, but only need to raise around 75 per cent. of the purchase price of their home from a conventional mortgage. The balance is made up by two equity loans, each of around 12.5 per cent. of the purchase price. One loan comes from Government through a HomeBuy Agent and the other comes from one of four mortgage lenders participating in the HomeBuy scheme. For the remainder of 2007-08, we are expanding the range of Open Market HomeBuy products. From 23 July we are offering a new 17.5 per cent. Government equity loan which purchasers will be able to use more flexibly as a deposit and take to any lender on the open market. This will complement the existing products and offer greater choice to purchasers.
	The following table shows the total affordable housing in Peterborough including homes for both affordable rent and low cost home ownership (as detailed in the previous table) that have been provided either through new build or acquisition and refurbishment.
	
		
			   Low cost home ownership  Affordable homes for rent  Total affordable housing  provided 
			  Peterborough
			 2002-03 7 82 89 
			 2003-04 9 0 9 
			 2004-05 18 142 160 
			 2005-06 55 44 99 
			 2006-07(1) 44 67 111 
			 (1) Provisional.

Housing: Prices

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the ratio was between the average price of a home for first-time buyers and  (a) average wages and  (b) average household incomes in each local housing authority area in England at the latest date for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested cannot be derived by local housing authority due to the sample size of first time buyers (FTBs) from the Regulated Mortgage Survey data. However the ratios between the mean average price of a house for first time buyers and  (a) mean average wages and  (b) mean average household incomes at a regional level are presented in the following table for Q1 2007. The usual comparison used by the Government and the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit involves lower quartile earnings compared to lower quartile house prices.
	
		
			  Ratios between the mean average price of a home for first time buyers against (a) mean average wages and against (b) mean average household incomes 
			  Government Office Region  (a)  (b) 
			 North East 4.3 4.5 
			 North West 4.5 4.4 
			 Yorks and Humber 4.5 4.4 
			 East Midlands 4.6 4.6 
			 West Midlands 4.9 5.0 
			 Eastern 5.8 5.2 
			 London 6.5 7.0 
			 South East 6.0 5.1 
			 South West 6.0 5.4 
			
			 England 5.6 5.4 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been derived using: Q1 2007 average house prices for first time buyers from the Regulated Mortgage Survey. 2. Average wages based on the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) as at April 2006 and up-rated to Q1 2007 using the ONS Average Earnings Index (AEI), average household earnings based on the CLG Survey of English Housing (SEH) for 2005-06 and up-rated to Q1 2007 using the ONS Average Earnings Index (AEI).

Housing: Private Finance Initiative

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list each housing private finance initiative scheme, by local authority, that her Department and its predecessors have approved since May 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The Housing Private Finance Initiative schemes approved by the Department since May 1997 are listed by local authority in the following table:
	
		
			  Local  a uthority  Project  n ame  Status 
			 Ashford Borough Council Stanhope Estate(1) Signed 2007-08 
			 Cheshire County Council Extra Care Housing Project In procurement 
			 Coventry City Council New Homes for Old Signed 2005-06 
			 Derby City Council Inner City Regeneration Round 3 Additional Social Rented Scheme Signed 2000-01 in procurement 
			 Kent County Council Better Homes Active Lives In procurement 
			 Kirklees Metropolitan Council Excellent Homes for Life(1) In procurement 
			 Leeds City Council Swarcliffe Independent Living(1)( )Little London(1) Signed 2004-05 in procurement In procurement 
			 London Borough of Brent Social Housing and Adult Care In procurement 
			 London Borough of Camden Chalcots(1) Signed 2006-07 
			 London Borough of Croydon New for Old Signed 2005-06 
			 London Borough of Hammersmith And Fulham Homes for Older People Signed 2003-04 
			 London Borough of Islington Islington Street Properties 1(1)( )Islington Street Properties 2(1) Signed 2002-03 Signed 2006-07 
			 London Borough of Lambeth Myatts Field(1) In procurement 
			 London Borough of Lewisham Brockley(1) Signed 2007-08 
			 London Borough of Newham Canning Town(1) Forest Gate(1) Signed 2005-06 In procurement 
			 Manchester City Council Ardwick-Plymouth Grove(1)( )Brunswick Miles Platting(1) Signed 2002-03 in procurement Signed 2006-07 
			 North East Derbyshire District Council Holmewood Signed 1998-99 
			 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council Sheltered Housing Gateways to Oldham(1) Signed 2006-07 in procurement 
			 Reading Borough Council North Whitley(1) Signed 2003-04 
			 Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Hawthorns Fields(1) Signed 2005-06 
			 Selby District Council Non-HRA PFI Project One Signed 2003-04 
			 Warrington Borough Council Anson and Blenheim Phase 1 Signed 2004-05 Phase 2 Signed 2006-07 
			 West Wiltshire District Council Round 3 Additional Social Rented Scheme In procurement 
			 (1) Indicates schemes in the Department's Decent Homes/Mixed Communities PFI Programme. 
		
	
	 Decent Homes/Mixed Communities PFI schemes
	refurbishment and/or reprovision of existing council stock, including elements of regeneration; properties remain in council ownership and tenants remain tenants of the local authority; and
	 Additional social rented housing PFI schemes
	new build units or the acquisition and refurbishment of non-decent private sector dwellings. In these schemes, the new housing is owned by the PFI contractor (usually a registered social landlord, RSL) not the council.
	A further seven schemes are developing outline business cases. If these are approved, they will enter the procurement stage. The local authorities developing outline business cases are as follows:
	Guildford borough council—Additional Social Rented scheme
	London borough of Lewisham—Chrysalis — Decent Homes scheme
	Manchester city council—Collyhurst—Decent Homes scheme
	Medway council—Shaws Wood and Woodlands Care Courts—Additional Social Rented scheme
	North Tyneside council—Homes for the Future—Decent Homes scheme
	Salford city council—Creating a New Pendleton—Decent Homes scheme
	Woking borough council—Additional Social Rented scheme.
	In addition, there are also two combined heating and power schemes which have been funded through the programme in Manchester city council and London borough of Tower Hamlets.

Housing: Regeneration

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the funding agreement for the 2006-08 period between her Department and each pathfinder scheme.

Iain Wright: Copies of the funding agreements for 2006-07 between each pathfinder and the Department have been placed in the Library of the House. Funding agreements for 2007-08 are currently being finalised—when complete, copies of these will also be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Housing: Standards

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1861W, on housing: standards, if she will  (a) provide a summary of the outcome of the meeting and  (b) place in the Library a copy of the minutes of the meeting to which she refers.

Yvette Cooper: Following the meeting with the Citizens Advice Bureau, it was agreed that further consideration would be given to exploring potential solutions to the issue of retaliatory eviction facing tenants who exercised their statutory rights with respect to repairs being completed in the property they rent.
	Ministers' meetings with outside bodies are undertaken on a confidential basis. It is not the Department's practice to disclose the details of what was discussed in such meetings.

Housing: Standards

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many assessments were carried out under the housing health and safety system in 2006-07; and how many properties were assessed as representing a category 1 hazard in  (a) each local authority area,  (b) local authority property,  (c) registered social landlord property and  (d) private accommodation.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 26 July 2007
	As the Housing Health and Safety Rating System was implemented in 2006-07, We do not yet have data on assessments of hazards, data will be available in 2007-08.

Housing: Standards

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her response is to the recommendation made by the Williams Commission in its report, Quality First: The Commission on Design of Affordable Housing in the Thames Gateway, that the Planning Inspectorate should send a stronger message to developers and local authorities that low quality in the design of housing schemes is a legitimate basis upon which planning applications should be refused.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 24 July 2007
	The independent report by the Williams Commission was commissioned by the Housing Corporation. It makes a very valuable contribution to the debate on urban design and affordable housing. Officials will be considering the recommendations made to Government and discussing them with the Housing Corporation and Planning Inspectorate.

Housing: Sustainable Development

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many assessors are  (a) qualified and  (b) in training to give code ratings under the Code for Sustainable Homes; how many assessors are needed to carry out voluntary assessments; how many will be needed to carry out mandatory assessments when the Code becomes mandatory in 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: By the end of June 2007, the Buildings Research Establishment (who administer the scheme and train and accredit assessors) advise us that 432 trained and accredited assessors were available to undertake assessments for the Code for Sustainable Homes (the Code), and that they are training approximately 50 assessors a month and anticipate having approximately 900 assessors in place by April 2008.
	The Code involves a two-stage assessment process. At design-stage the different types of homes in a development are assessed rather than each individual home; the post construction check is against a sample of the home-types that have been completed. The Government are consulting on proposals for homes to receive a mandatory rating but not a mandatory assessment. Some homes might therefore have no assessment and simply receive a zero rating or non rating. Therefore, it is not clear yet how many assessors would be needed. If new house building were to be around 165,000 new homes and all of these were assessed against the Code, the existing 432 assessors would need to carry out 51 assessments each a year. Based on the current growth assessor numbers the estimated 900 assessors available in April 2008 would need to carry out about 25 assessments each a year. These figures are based on the average development size, and the number of different types of properties on each development. In the past year one assessor has completed 60 assessments and registered a further 350 against the Code or its predecessor Ecohomes. These issues will be considered further as part of the consultation.

Housing: Valuation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 26 June 2007,  Official Report, column 633W, on housing: valuation, whether a property with a greenhouse may be assigned a higher financial valuation than an identical property without a greenhouse.

John Healey: There is no answer under the head "Housing: Valuation" of 26 June 2007,  Official Report, column 633W. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 June 2007,  Official Report, column 641W.

Housing: Valuation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 19 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1677W, on housing: valuation, whether a greenhouse is included in the generic classification of outbuilding.

John Healey: A standard greenhouse would not be classified by the Valuation Office Agency as an outbuilding.

Housing: Valuation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many dwellings have had their individual property records updated by the Valuation Office Agency using information from the Rightmove.co.uk database in the last month.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 June 2007,  Official Report, column 630W, to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove).

Housing: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether any Government-owned sites in Warrington have been identified as suitable for the provision of social or low-cost housing; and whether any discussions have taken place with other agencies about whether any sites they own could be released for housing provision.

Iain Wright: Three surplus public sector sites in Warrington are on the Register of Surplus Public Sector land. They are:
	the former Police Training Centre, Bruche, owned by the Home Office/National Police Improvement Agency;
	a small piece of land in Delenty Drive, owned by the local PCT; and
	former railway/ viaduct land owned by British Railways Board (Residuary) Ltd.
	Of these, the Bruche site has been identified as having the potential for housing development. English Partnerships is taking forward discussions with the Home Office over its purchase to enable the provision of housing including affordable homes. English Partnerships has also discussed the former railway land with the British Railways Board (Residuary) Ltd. Following these discussions, two other surplus sites have been identified recently which are currently being assessed for housing potential.
	After considering the Delenty Drive site with the primary care trust, English Partnerships and Warrington borough council have ruled out its potential for housing development because of its size.
	English Partnerships is also examining the results of the second round competition for the First Time Buyers' Initiative for further housing development opportunities in Warrington. The competition closed on 16 July and is aimed at developing potential First Time Buyers' Initiative schemes on current or former public sector land.
	Further discussions are continuing with all central Government Departments and their agencies about bringing forward more land for housing development.

INTERREG Programme

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department is the lead Government Department for the EU's INTERREG programme.

Hazel Blears: Communities and Local Government is the lead Government Department for the EU's INTERREG programme.

Land: Databases

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether residential gardens are included in the typology of previously developed land for the National Land Use Database.

Yvette Cooper: The typology for previously-developed land used in the National Land Use Database of Previously-Developed Land (NLUD-PDL) comprises vacant and derelict sites, and sites in use which the local authority has identified as possibly available for redevelopment. It includes residential as well as other land, however there is an optional minimum threshold of 0.25 hectares and therefore it generally does not include small sites.

Local Area Agreements

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to change the arrangements for local area agreements.

John Healey: The Local Government White Paper "Strong and Prosperous Communities" put local area agreements (LAAs) at the heart of the new performance framework for local government.
	From 2008 new LAAs will be the only means by which central Government can agree targets for those outcomes delivered by local government alone or in partnership, drawn from the new national indicator set.
	Further information on the new arrangements for LAAs can be found in the publication "Developing the future arrangements for Local Area Agreements" on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1506327.

Local Area Agreements

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the reasons for the time taken for signing off local area agreements.

John Healey: New local area agreements will cover the period April 2008 to March 2011 in line with the new public service agreement (PSA) framework. Targets in the new agreements will be drawn from the national indicator set to be published following the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 in the autumn.

Local Government Executive: Referendums

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many referendums have been held on whether to have a directly-elected mayor under the Local Government Act 2000.

John Healey: There have been 34 such referendums in England and one in Wales.

Local Government Finance

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the revenue grant to local authorities was, excluding education funding, in each year since 1997-98.

John Healey: Formula grant, which comprises Revenue Support Grant, redistributed business rates, principal formula Police Grant, SSA Reduction Grant (SSA Review), SSA Reduction Grant (Police Funding Review) and Central Support Protection Grant, where appropriate, is an unhypothecated block grant i.e. authorities are free to spend it on any service. This, together with the method of calculating the distribution to authorities, particularly floor damping, means that it is not possible to say how much grant has been provided for any particular service such as education.
	The following table shows the amount of formula grant provided to all local authorities since 1997-98. Prior to 2006-07, the services covered by formula grant included schools; from 2006-07 onwards support for schools has been funded through the Dedicated Schools Grant. The table therefore also shows the total amount of Dedicated Schools Grant provided to authorities in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Current year's Formula Grant)  Dedicated Schools Grant  Total 
			 1998-99 35,436.867 — 35,436.867 
			 1999-2000 37,110.829 — 37,110.829 
			 2000-01 38,516.380 — 38,516.380 
			 2001-02 40,024.446 — 40,024.446 
			 2002-03 40,323.132 — 40,323.132 
			 2003-04 43,894.370 — 43,894.370 
			 2004-05 46,124.222 — 46,124.222 
			 2005-06 49,015.925 — 49,015.925 
			 2006-07 24,813.914 26,573.838 51,387.752 
			 2007-08 25,633.008 28,031.350 53,664.358 
		
	
	Please note that it is not possible to compare these data directly due to transfers in funding and function.

Local Government Finance

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding is being provided to each participating budget pilot area; and what the source of this funding is.

John Healey: According to data from the local authorities concerned, the funding which has been available for allocation under participatory budgeting in pilot areas, and its source, is set out as follows. This funding covers more than one financial year:
	
		
			  Area  Funding source  Amount (£) 
			 Bradford Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 779,531 
			  Safer and Stronger Communities Fund 309,967 
			
			 Newcastle Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 260,507 
			
			 Sunderland New Deal for Communities in East End and Hendon 130,000 
			  New Deal for Communities (including re-profiled funds) 23,000,000 (of which 2,350,000 was re-profiled.) 
			  East Area Committee, Local Authority Funding 20,000 
			
			 Salford Local Authority Transport capital programme, "other minor works" funding devolved to Claremont and Weaste Community Committee 100,000 
			
			 Manton Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder 50,000 
			
			 Lewisham Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 37,500 
			  Local Authority core funds (spending priorities for these funds to be decided in September) 7,500 
		
	
	The funding to be available for allocation in the remaining four areas is being agreed.

Local Government Finance

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether councils taking part in the participatory budget pilots are receiving additional funding from central Government.

John Healey: No. However the Department sponsors the Participatory Budgeting Unit, a Third Sector project managed by the Church Action on Poverty, which is involved in the pilots. A grant of £210,000 over three years from 2004 to 2007; and an additional £30,000 for this current year until March 2008, have been awarded by the Department for funding the Unit's core costs.

Local Government Finance

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of the pilots taking part in the participatory budget pilots were already engaged in participatory budgets prior to the recent announcement by her Department.

John Healey: Five of the participatory budgeting areas identified by the Secretary of State earlier this month were already engaged in the pilot process.

Local Government Services: Inflation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what index is used to calculate inflation in relation to the costs of providing local authority services.

John Healey: In common with other Government Departments, Communities and Local Government uses the HM Treasury Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Deflator to measure money changes in real terms.

Local Government: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has had from the Better Government for Cumbria Group on Cumbria County Council's unitary bid.

John Healey: holding answer 23 July 2007
	We received representations from the Better Government for Cumbria Group on 25 January, 28 March and 22 June 2007. These were taken into account before we announced our decisions on which proposals should proceed towards implementation in my statement on 25 July 2007,  Official Report, column 68WS.

Local Government: Finance

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department's budget limit is for unitary local government bids.

John Healey: We made it clear in the Invitation to Councils, published in October 2006, that all proposals will need to be self-financing and central Government will accept no liability for any miscalculation or cost overrun in the final outturn.

Local Government: Flags

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has given to local authorities on the flying of the Union flag on a daily basis at council offices; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
	Local authorities can decide for themselves when they wish to fly the Union Flag. However, as some choose to follow Government guidance, we have updated the flag flying section of the DCMS website (www.culture.gov.uk/flagflying) and informed the Local Government Association. This follows the announcement by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport allowing all UK Government Departments to have the freedom to fly the Union Flag when they wish while the Department carry out a consultation on altering the flag flying guidance.

Local Government: Grants

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of local government revenue expenditure, excluding education, was financed by specific grants in each year since 1997-98.

John Healey: The percentage of local government revenue expenditure financed by specific grants in England in each year since 1997-98 and the estimated figures for 2006-07 and 2007-08 are in the following table.
	The table is produced on a non-Financial Reporting Standard (FRS17) basis to 2003-04 and on an FRS17 basis from 2003-04 onwards. The main implication is that the costs of entitlements to retirement benefits (pensions) in FRS17 are accounted for in the year in which employment gives rise to the entitlement, rather than the year in which cash payments of contributions or pensions take place. On an FRS17 basis revenue expenditure is now financed by appropriations from pension reserves, in addition to appropriations from other reserves, revenue support grant, redistributed non-domestic rates, police grant and council tax.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Proportion excluding education  Proportion including education 
			  Non-FRS17 basis   
			 1997-98 5 4 
			 1998-99 6 5 
			 1999-2000 6 5 
			 2000-01 7 8 
			 2001-02 9 11 
			 2002-03 13 14 
			 2003-04 — 18 
			
			  FRSI7 basis   
			 2003-04(1) — 17 
			 2004-05(1) — 77 
			 2005-06(1) — 17 
			 2006-07(1) — 44 
			 2007-08(1) — 44 
			 (1)( )Most specific grants are allocated to particular service areas. However, there are a number of specific grants which can fund a variety of services. The increasing proportion of such grants means that, from 2003-04, it is no longer possible to give accurate figures for specific grants by service block.  Source: Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO) returns 1997-98 to 2005-06. Communities and Local Government Revenue Account (RA) Budget returns 2006-07 to 2007-08. 
		
	
	The large change in specific grant from 2006-07 onwards is largely due to changes in the way the expenditure on schools is funded. Local authorities now receive dedicated schools grant, included in specific grants, replacing funding previously included in formula grant.
	The definition of local government revenue expenditure used here is that expenditure funded from Aggregate External Finance (AEF), council tax and authorities' reserves. AEF is central Government revenue funding that comprises formula grant (revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and police grant), general Greater London Authority (GLA) grant and specific grants inside AEF, i.e. revenue grants paid for council's core services. The specific grants used here are the specific grants inside AEF.
	Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changing local authority responsibilities.

Local Government: ICT

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to promote best practice among local authorities in using mobile and wireless technology to facilitate more efficient working and public service delivery; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to address the technical and cultural barriers which constrain the use of ICT and mobile technology in local government.

John Healey: The Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships are tasked with promoting efficiency and improvement among councils in their area. They undertake a range of activities to address barriers through such means as dissemination of good practice.
	In addition, the Department has created a national project on mobile working (NOMAD) as part of the local e-government programme. NOMAD www.projectnomad.org.uk, which is owned now by Cambridgeshire county council, is a centre of excellence established specifically to promote mobile and flexible working in local services, receiving contributions from both commercial suppliers of mobile technologies, and many local authorities.

Local Government: ICT

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the potential of mobile technology and ICT in local government to meet efficiency savings identified in the Gershon Review;
	(2)  what assessment has been made of the costs and benefits of mobile and wireless technology in local government and service delivery; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The benefits guide to the Project Nomad e-government project (www.projectnomad.org) estimates potential savings from that project of the order of £54 million with an additional value added of £170 million. Other activities, such as those supported by the Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships will also have a role to play in enhancing efficiency through these means.

Local Government: Pay

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the implications of the GMB  v. Allen case in Middlesbrough on single status.

John Healey: I cannot comment on a case which is currently under appeal.

Local Government: Reform

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department will announce which unitary council and local government restructuring bids should be implemented in the first wave of such restructuring.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to my written statement of 25 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 68WS.

Local Government: Reform

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the representations from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to her Department on the costs of local government restructuring.

John Healey: It is not Government policy to release cabinet committee correspondence.

Local Government: Standards

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans her Department has to consult local authorities on the 200 performance indicators which will be included in the new local government performance framework.

John Healey: The Comprehensive Spending Review which is currently under way will shape the new national indicator set for local government. Departments have been consulting key stakeholders, including local authorities and representative organisations where appropriate, on their proposals for Public Service Agreements, Delivery Agreements and associated indicators.
	The national indicator set for local government will be announced alongside the Comprehensive Spending Review in the autumn. We plan to consult local authorities on the detailed definitions of indicators following this announcement.

Local Government: Standards

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley of 13 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1073W, on local government: standards, which local authorities in each Government Office region have public service agreement or local area agreement targets which relate to children being placed in care, other than adoptions; what the targets are in each case; and how much funding each local authority will receive if it achieves these targets.

John Healey: No local authorities currently have local public service agreement (LPSA) or local area agreement (LAA) reward element targets in relation to the numbers of children they look after. Only one local authority has ever had a target relating to children being placed in care as part of its LPSA or LAA reward element. In its first round LPSA Kent county council (Government Office of the South East Region) chose to include a local target to "reduce the total number of children looked after by KCC (bearing in mind the individual needs of the children and the involvement of the courts".
	The target Kent county council negotiated related to their performance in March 2004, and to improve from an anticipated 1,300 children looked after down to 1,200 children looked after. KCC achieved this target and received £2.1 million in performance reward grant from Government.

Local Government: Standards

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many improvement targets for councils will be  (a) established via local area agreements and  (b) included in her Department's plans.

John Healey: From 2008, local area agreements (LAAs) will be the only place where improvement targets can be established with local authorities for outcomes they deliver alone or in partnership. Baroness Andrews set out the Government's position on the number of improvements targets during the passage of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill on 16th July 2007:
	"We expect LAAs to contain up to 35 improvement targets and 18 statutory education and early years targets." [ Official Report, House of Lords, 16 July 2007, Vol. 694, c. 95]
	These targets will be drawn from the single set of around 200 national indicators for local government which will be published following CSR07, and which will reflect the priorities of all Departments. Targets in LAAs will vary between localities. They will be dependent on the outcome of negotiations between Local Strategic Partnerships and the Government offices representing central Government.

Local Government: Working Hours

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of local authorities have implemented  (a) flexible working practices and  (b) mobile working.

John Healey: The information requested in not held centrally. The adoption of modern work practices is a common theme of the published Local Authority Annual Efficiency Statements, which can be viewed on the departmental website at www.communities. gsi.gov.uk

Mr. Robert Adewumni

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to improve internal audit and the scope for internal fraud following the conviction of Mr Robert Adewumni for fraud in the Civil Resistance Directorate of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Hazel Blears: Communities and Local Government's internal audit had before this case, and continues to have, a continuous improvement programme to ensure that modern and effective audit practices are in place. Within internal audit there is a separate fraud section with appropriately trained staff. They are fully acquainted with the Fraud Act, the Proceeds of Crime Act, etc. The section assists the Department in building a culture of fraud awareness and prevention.
	In the Adewumni case the internal audit acted to investigate and find the level of the fraud, and to provide advice to management on necessary improvements. In this case there was a lack of compliance with laid down systems of control. Internal audit has further enhanced its compliance reviews as a result of this fraud. The Department improved its guidance for its managers and made some changes to processes Action was also taken to enhance financial/HR processes. This will reduce the risk of fraud through improving processes for prevention and detection.

Mr. Robert Adewumni

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated net loss to the public purse was of the fraud perpetrated by Mr. Robert Adewumni in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; and what steps are being taken to recover losses from Mr. Adewumni's overseas bank accounts.

Hazel Blears: The estimated loss was £867,200.
	Robert Adewumni was sentenced to four years imprisonment in March 2006 for theft of money from Communities and Local Government (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister). Since then the Department, the police and Crown Prosecution Service have been working towards retrieving the stolen funds. A Confiscation Hearing was held at Southwark Crown court on 22 June 2007.
	Mr. Adewumni was further charged with Contempt of Court at this Hearing. This charge was for breaking a Restraining Order issued in May 2005. In particular this related to failure to repatriate assets, transferring of assets and failure to declare assets. He pleaded guilty to this charge and was sentenced to a further 18 months imprisonment.
	An order was made for repayment of £414,867 to Communities and Local Government (CLG) within six months from the date of the hearing. Failure to meet the repayment in full will result in a further three year prison sentence to run consecutively (following on from the Contempt of Court sentence).
	A further order was also made against Tami Adewumni, his wife, that she should repay £23,437, also within six months, failing which she will receive an additional 12 month prison sentence.
	The figures for repayment include all known assets including bank accounts held outside of this country. Police investigations have explored a number of overseas lines of inquiry, including "gifts" to friends and relatives, companies in the British Virgin Islands and the US, and an account in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Non-Domestic Rates

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was raised in business non-domestic rates by each local authority in the last year for which figures are available; and how much of that total was returned to each local authority.

John Healey: I have placed a copy of the information requested for local authorities in England in the Library of the House.

Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2007,  Official Report, column 174W to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on non-domestic rates: valuation, who produced the feasibility study.

John Healey: The Valuation Office Agency.

Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 25 June 2007,  Official Report, column 174W, on non-domestic rates: valuation, if she will place in the Library a copy of the first phase feasibility study report.

John Healey: This is an interim report forming part of a feasibility study by the Valuation Office Agency, to investigate the viability of developing additional computer assisted rental analysis for the preparation of the 2010 Non Domestic Revaluation. Release of the findings into the public domain at this time would be prejudicial to the further research and development of this computer-based tool.

Ordnance Survey

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Ordnance Survey's targets are for use of 15cm high-resolution pictometry oblique imagery across England.

Iain Wright: Ordnance Survey has a commercial agreement with BLOM Aerofilms Limited to act as an authorised reseller of Pictometry data of Great Britain.
	It is a matter for BLOM Aerofilms Ltd. to determine for which areas of England coverage of the product is made available, based on customer demand, and acquisition of the data, and on other commercial considerations. It is for customers of the product to determine uses within their businesses. Ordnance Survey does not use Pictometry within its own business processes.

Owner Occupation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department's target is for increasing the level of home ownership.

Yvette Cooper: 'Homes for the Future', launched on 23 July outlines the Government's plans for delivering new homes. We are taking urgent action to meet growing demand and address the serious issue of housing affordability. Our new target will deliver 240,000 additional homes a year by 2016.

Owner Occupation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) conclusions and  (b) outputs were of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Home Ownership Task Force.

Yvette Cooper: The Home Ownership task force published its report, "A Home of My Own", in November 2003. A copy is available on the Housing Corporation's website.
	The task force looked at the routes into low cost home ownership and made recommendations for an increase in the supply in all types of housing, both market and social housing. It also proposed a number of detailed improvements to low cost home ownership schemes and the provision of better information and advice to individuals.
	A copy of the report and the Government's full response to the 45 recommendations is available on the Communities and Local Government website.
	The majority of the recommendations were accepted in full by the Government and taken forward in the Housing Act 2004 and in the development of the homebuy scheme, which commenced in April 2006, as well as more generally.
	On 23 July we published a Housing Green Paper which sets out our continuing support for the low cost home ownership programme.

Partnerships: Thames Gateway

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who the partners in the Thames Gateway project were in each year since its inception; and what the budget for support for partners was in each year.

Yvette Cooper: The following table details support funding for Thames Gateway Local Regeneration Partnerships.
	This funding has supported the creation and delivery of nine local regeneration partnerships in the Thames Gateway, including two urban development corporations, each tasked with co-ordinating the delivery of the Thames Gateway Programme at a local level. These funds have directly funded staff costs, project development, development briefs, and feasibility studies for key sites and initiatives.
	In some cases they also contribute to project management of crucial projects such as the Fastrack bus-transit system in Kent Thameside and Rochester Riverside development in Medway.
	These costs are part of a larger programme of investment by my Department, currently some £672 million (2003-08), which we have invested in a range of projects including brownfield remediation, economic development, education, health and greenspace. This long-term programme is set to achieve the delivery of 160,000 new homes and 180,000 new jobs and lever in some £38 billion of private investment in the next 15-20 years.
	Total support amounted to:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Capital  Revenue 
			 2003-04 104,801 481,624 
			 2004-05 2,047,340 3,424,927 
			 2005-06 4,761,635 8,759,744 
			 2006-07 3,185,155 10,654,158 
			 Total 10,098,211 25,093,971 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			 2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  Total 
			 Basildon Renaissance Essex Resource consumption — 250,000.00 255,000.00 260,000.00 765,000.00 
			 Bexley Partnership London Capital — — 89,000.00 216,342.00 305,342,00 
			   Resource consumption — — 296,947.00 163,205.00 460,152.00 
			 Kent Thameside Delivery Board Kent Capital — 694,306.00 666,000.00 424,000.00 1,784,306.00 
			   Resource consumption 165,624.00 119,048.00 136,000.00 76,000.00 496,672.00 
			 London Thames Gateway Development Corporation London Capital — 189,000.00 413,000.00 263,000.00 865,000.00 
			   Resource consumption(1) — 1,234,459.00 3,507,000.00 4,305,000.00 10,819,977.00 
			 Medway Renaissance Partnership Kent Capital 104,081.00 527,969.00 1,367,950.00 1,300,000.00 3,300,000.00 
			 Renaissance Southend Essex Resource consumption — 199,028.00 217,442.00 352,558.00 769,028.00 
			 Swale Development Board Kent Capital  386,065.00 367,685.00 285,813.00 1,039,563.00 
			   Resource consumption 100,000.00 76,392.00 135,069.00 107,395.00 418,856.00 
			 Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation Essex Capital — — 1,203,000.00 311,000.00 1,514,000.00 
			   Resource consumption(1) 216,000.00 1,546,000.00 4,100,000.00 5,190,000.00 11,052,000.00 
			 Woolwich Regeneration Agency London Capital — — 400,000.00 125,000.00 525,000.00 
			   Resource consumption — — 112,286.00 200,000.00 312,286.00 
			 
			   Capital 104,081.00 2,047,340.00 4,761,635.00 3,185,155.00 10,098,211.00 
			   Resource(1) 481,624.00 3,424,927.00 8,759,744.00 10,654,158.00 25,093,971.00 
			 (1) Resource consumption figures do not include notional cost of capital and writedown charges for land held by the UDCs.

Planning Permission

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what advice  (a) her Department,  (b) regional government offices and  (c) the Planning Inspectorate have given to local planning authorities who are preparing their local development framework on the process by which supplementary planning guidance and design brief documents previously issued by the authority can be saved either as a supplementary planning document or as a design brief which will continue to have weight in determining planning applications.

Yvette Cooper: Local planning authorities are being advised that supplementary planning guidance and design briefs are still capable of remaining a material consideration in the determination of planning applications and appeals provided that the policies in local plans on which they are based remain in force. There is no need to save them as supplementary planning documents (SPDs).

Planning Permission

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been given to local authorities on making submissions from the public on individual planning applications open to public inspection.

Hazel Blears: We have issued no guidance on the point. For the sake of fairness and transparency, we urge local planning authorities to make comments from third parties open to inspection wherever possible. This helps applicant and authority to understand why aspects of a proposal give rise to objection, and adds to efficiency in the planning system. However, there is no legal duty to make representations public, unless (with certain exceptions) a letter of comment forms part of a planning officer's report to Committee or the background papers to the report.
	A local authority should always have regard to the Data Protection Act: the decision on what to disclose is one for the individual authority.

Planning: Appeals

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning appeals have so far been considered and ruled on by the Planning Inspectorate in relation to planning applications for residential development under the new Policy Planning Statement 3 regime.

Yvette Cooper: The following table gives information on the number of planning appeals concerning residential development determined by the Planning Inspectorate for the period since the introduction of PPS3 in November 2006 until June 2007.
	
		
			   Number/percentage 
			 Total decided 5,428 
			 Number allowed 1,610 
			 Number dismissed 3,818 
			 Percentage allowed 30

Planning: Appeals

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what targets were set for processing of planning and enforcement appeals between April 2006 and March 2007; and what such targets have been set since April 2007.

Iain Wright: The Inspectorate's targets are the same for both periods requested and are set out as follows:
	 Key performance targets 2006-07 and 2007-08—England
	 Proposals for 10 or more dwellings
	1. To open all hearings within 20 weeks of the start date of the case.
	2. To issue 80 per cent. of decisions within 10 weeks of the close of the hearing.
	3. To open all inquiries within 20 weeks of the start date of the case
	4. To issue 80 per cent. of decisions within 10 weeks of the close of the inquiry.
	 Planning appeals and called in planning applications decided by the Secretary of State
	5. To open 80 per cent. of inquiries and hearings within 22 weeks of the start date of the case.
	6. Jointly with Planning Central Casework Division/Ministers, to issue all decisions in accordance with statutory timetables.
	 Planning and enforcement appeals decided by Inspectors by the written representations method
	7. Planning appeals: By the end of 2006-07 to determine 50 per cent. of planning appeals decided by written representations within 16 weeks of the start date of the case.
	8. Enforcement appeals: 80 per cent. of enforcement appeals decided by written representations to be determined within 32 weeks of the start date of the case.
	 Planning and enforcement appeals decided by Inspectors by the hearing method
	9. Planning appeals: By the end of 2006-07 to determine 50 per cent. of planning appeals decided by hearing within 30 weeks of the start date of the case.
	10. Enforcement appeals: 80 per cent. of enforcement appeals decided by hearing to be determined within 33 weeks of the start date of the case.
	 Planning and enforcement appeals decided by Inspectors by the inquiry method
	11. Planning appeals: By the end of 2006-07 to determine 50 per cent. of planning appeals decided by inquiry within 30 weeks of the start date of the case.
	12. Enforcement appeals: 80 per cent. of enforcement appeals decided by inquiries to be determined within 43 weeks of the start date of the case.
	 Key performance targets 2006-07 and 2007-08—Wales
	13. 80 per cent. of all planning appeals decided by written representations to be determined in 16 weeks.
	14. 80 per cent. of all planning appeals decided by hearings to be determined in 22 weeks.
	15. 80 per cent. of all planning appeals decided by inquiries to be determined in 30 weeks.
	16. 80 per cent. of all enforcement appeals decided by written representations to be determined in 32 weeks.
	17. 80 per cent. of all enforcement appeals decided by hearings and inquiries to be determined in 43 weeks.
	18. For called-in applications and recovered appeals to meet the individual timetable set for delivery of the report to the National Assembly (seven weeks up to eight inquiry sitting days; agreed timetable for larger cases).

Planning: Floods

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to take account of the risk of flooding in the formation of its planning policy.

Yvette Cooper: In December 2006 we published Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 25 "Development and Flood Risk" to strengthen protection against flood risk in the planning system.
	We extended the Environment Agency's statutory consultee role so that it now has to be consulted on planning applications in flood risk areas (The regulation came into force on 1 October 2006).
	A planning Direction supports PPS25, providing greater scrutiny for major developments proposed in flood risk areas. Where local authorities intend to approve applications that the Environment Agency still objects to, Government Offices can consider whether to call the application in for decision by the Secretary of State.
	PPS25 is available at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l504639

Planning: Floods

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations her Department has received from the Environment Agency on planning regulations and guidance on development on flood plains.

Yvette Cooper: The Environment Agency is a key stakeholder on flood risk issues as it has statutory responsibility for flood management and defence in England and will support the planning system by providing timely information and advice on flooding issues that is fit for purpose. Officials have worked very closely with the Environment Agency in developing Planning Policy Statement 25 Development and Flood Risk (published December 2006). We are continuing to work closely with the Environment Agency on the development of the Practice Guide Companion to PPS25 which will be published later this year.
	As part of the monitoring by the Environment Agency and Local Government Association of the planning process we have taken forward recommendations to strengthen the role of the Environment Agency. We have made them a statutory consultee (from October 2006) for all developments in flood risk areas and also introduced a flooding Direction 2007 which allows call-in to be considered if the Environment Agency sustains an objection to a development on flood risk grounds.

Property: Photographs

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 177-8W to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar, on property: photographs, if she will provide the information given in the answer as at July 2007.

John Healey: As at 3 July 2007 there were 23.68 million domestic properties entered in the council tax valuation lists in England and Wales. Photographs were attached to 3.2 per cent. of the 22.34 million domestic properties in England and 10 per cent. of the 1.34 million domestic properties in Wales.

Public Sector Relocation Independent Review

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 19 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1679W, on the Public Sector Relocation Independent Review, which Government departments and agencies which sent written submissions to the Lyons Inquiry into local government which are held by her Department.

John Healey: The final report of the Lyons Inquiry into Local Government provides, on pages 376 to 388, a list of organisations and members of the public that provided submissions to the Lyons Inquiry.

Regional Assemblies

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions she has held with the regional assemblies on their future role and responsibilities; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the oral statement I made to the House on 17 July 2007, announcing the publication of the Review of Sub-national Regeneration and Economic Development. The Review sets out the Government's proposals for the future of regional institutions, including regional assemblies.

Regional Government

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what support her Department expects to provide to the Ministers for the Regions.

John Healey: The role of Regional Ministers is set out in paragraphs 115 to 118 in "The Governance of Britain" and is currently being developed. At present, support is being provided by their departmental private offices and the Government offices in their respective regions as part of their wider functions.

Regional Government: Local Authorities

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to return powers held by the regional assemblies to local councils following the abolition of the regional assemblies.

John Healey: Local authorities will be given greater power and flexibilities to promote economic well-being; and regional development agencies will be expected to delegate funding to them wherever possible.
	There will however remain matters that need to be dealt with at a level beyond even the largest local authority, be that sub-regional or regional.
	The Government will consult further later this year on how to implement these reforms.

Regional Planning and Development

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her role is in approving and amending regional spatial strategies published by  (a) the Greater London Authority and  (b) the regional chambers in England.

John Healey: Following the examination in public, the Secretary of State is responsible for consulting on any proposed changes before approving and issuing the final version of the regional spatial strategy (RSS). Once published, the RSS becomes the regional level of the statutory development plan.
	The Mayor of London is responsible for publishing the Spatial Development Strategy "The London Plan" (which is the equivalent to an RSS). The Secretary of State has no role in approving the Spatial Development Strategy. The Secretary of State can direct the Mayor to make changes to the plan before it is published, but this power of direction may only be exercised for the purpose of avoiding inconsistency with national policies or any detriment to the interests of an area outside Greater London.
	The SNR published on 17 July set out the Government's proposals for strengthening regional governance and accountability including the introduction of a single regional strategy. We will consult on detailed implementation later this year.

Regional Planning and Development

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans the Government have to merge regional spatial strategies with regional economic strategies.

John Healey: The Review of Sub-National Economic Development published on 17 July 2007 set out the Government's proposals to merge regional spatial strategies with regional economic strategies. We will consult further on how to implement these reforms.

Richmond Park

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will bring forward legislation to protect the viewing corridor of the Tower of London from Richmond Park.

Iain Wright: No. The Tower of London is not currently visible from Richmond Park.

Right to Buy Scheme

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what the average Right to Buy discount in England was for a house in each year since 1996-97;
	(2)  what the average sales price was of a Right to Buy house, before any discount was applied, in each year since 1996-97.

Iain Wright: The average right to buy discounts and sale prices of social rent dwellings, in England, in each financial year since 1996-97 are shown in the following table. Information for 2006-07 is not yet available.
	
		
			  Right to buy sales( 1)  of social rent dwellings: England (estimated average per dwelling) 
			  £ 
			   Local authority sales  Registered social landlord sales 
			   Market value  Sale price  Discount  Market value  Sale price  Discount 
			 1996-97 40,677 20,566 20,110 48,101 23,873 24,228 
			 1997-98 42,123 21,303 20,819 49,162 24,461 24,701 
			 1998-99 45,492 22,614 22,878 51,457 25,129 26,328 
			 1999-2000 48,955 25,324 23,631 53,216 26,945 26,271 
			 2000-01 51,094 27,217 23,876 52,524 27,336 25,189 
			 2001-02 53,519 30,136 23,384 50,782 26,733 24,048 
			 2002-03 58,655 34,863 23,793 59,365 32,127 27,238 
			 2003-04 66,840 42,204 24,635 58,638 32,386 26,253 
			 2004-05 77,176 51,524 25,652 64,728 36,934 27,794 
			 2005-06 83,474 57,925 25,549 72,165 43,879 28,286 
			 (1) Includes sales through the preserved right to buy.  Source:  Housing Corporation (CORE), Local authorities (P1B)

Thames Gateway: Finance

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much public money was given to Thames Gateway project in each year since its inception.

Yvette Cooper: Billions of pounds are spent each year in the Thames Gateway through mainstream budgets such as education, health, transport, regional development agencies and local government. In addition, targeted funding to help facilitate additional homes and jobs is funded through the Department for Communities and Local Government Thames Gateway programme as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Programme resource consumption  Programme capital  Total spend 
			 2003-04 2.254 38.436 40.690 
			 2004-05 6.901 136.448 143.349 
			 2005-06 12.600 143.792 156.392 
			 2006-07 16.564 118.344 134.908 
			 2007-08 (Projected) 23.000 155.000 178.000

Thurrock Development Corporation

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the progress made since its inception by the Thurrock Urban Development Corporation; what key decisions it has taken since the answer of 20 July 2005,  Official Report, columns 1773-4W, on Thurrock Development Corporation; and what the latest timetable is for its future work programme;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on the work of the Thurrock Development Corporation since the answer of 19 April 2006,  Official Report, column 111W, on the Thurrock Development Corporation.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 26 June 2007
	Since April 2006, the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation has continued to implement its land acquisition programme with the acquisition of two sites in West Thurrock and south east Thurrock. The Development Corporation has determined over 100 planning applications, 53 of which have given planning permission for 670 new dwellings and employment developments that on completion will deliver 1,850 new jobs.
	In addition, the Development Corporation has sought to improve its engagement with stakeholders and is leading the sustainability block of the Thurrock Local Strategic Partnership and the economic development block of the Local Area Agreement. The Development Corporation established a community fund which offers grant of up to £20,000 to non-profit making clubs and other organisations to encourage and promote voluntary and community development and improve the quality of life for local residents and communities.
	The Development Corporation will continue this activity and will deliver the remainder of the capital programme identified in the Two Year Corporate Plan 2006-07 to 2007-08. A timetable for a future work programme will be taken once the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review is known and in the light of the proposals in the Corporate Plan they are preparing for financial years 2008-09 to 2010-11.

Travelling People

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how the Housing and Regeneration Bill is proposed to implement the European Court of Human Rights' ruling on Travellers.

Iain Wright: The provisions in the Housing and Regeneration Bill to implement the European Court of Human Rights ruling in the case of 'Connors  v. United Kingdom' are currently under consideration. In the consultation on "The Governance of Britain—the Government's Draft Legislative Programme", published on 11 July 2007, the Government outlined its draft legislative programme for the next session of Parliament. The Housing and Regeneration Bill was listed as one of the proposed Bills, and we intend to use this Bill to legislate on the Connors judgment. The final legislative programme will be confirmed in the Queen's Speech in the autumn.

Unitary Councils: Exeter

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the level of stakeholder support for Exeter's proposal to become a unitary authority.

John Healey: The Department's assessment against all five criteria, including the cross section of support from partners and stakeholders, is set out in Exeter city council's decision letter of 25 July 2007. This is available on the Department's website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1509144

Valuation Office

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what data was taken from the National Register of Social Housing by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to supplement and validate the VOA's records as referred to in the answer of 21 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1877W, on the Valuation Office Agency.

John Healey: No data was taken from the National Register of Social Housing other than a list of addresses of properties on the National Register, which was supplied to the VOA, in electronic format, on 2 March 2005.

Valuation Office: Contracts

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 20 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1863W, on the Valuation Office: contracts, whether the future payments by the Valuation Office Agency to Rightmove for the duration of the existing contracts are fixed.

John Healey: Further payments are subject to an established ceiling within the duration of the contract and to any arrangements for variation or extension of the contract.

Valuebill Database

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which Government departments and agencies  (a) have and  (b) will have access to the Valuebill database and interface.

John Healey: The Valuebill national project promoted the close alignment of pre-existing property databases within the Valuation Office Agency and Billing Authorities, and developed standards for the interfaces. No Government departments or agencies other than VOA have access to those interfaces. Full details are available from www.londonconnects.gov.uk/valuebill.cfm

Wilkinson Star

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings she and her predecessor had with  (a) Wilkinson Star Ltd and  (b) Peninsula Business Services Ltd in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has had no meetings with Wilkinson Star Ltd. or Peninsula Business Services Ltd. in the last 12 months.

Youth Organisations: Hampshire

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding her Department provides to support  (a) youth councils and  (b) other youth organisations in Hampshire.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government do not set a budget for local authorities to spend on specific youth-related organisations or youth councils, and do not collect this information. Local authorities decide how funding should be deployed in their areas, taking into account Government policy and local needs. For 2007-08, Hampshire local authority reported that they intended to allocate a budget of £8,281,500 for youth services. The Department is currently validating this figure and it is therefore subject to change.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Academies

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what representations he has made to local education authorities on the establishing of city academies; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Local authorities are key partners in the development of academies, and my Department works closely with local authorities on the development of academy projects and the organisation of secondary provision in their areas more generally.
	The Department's academies prospectus for sponsors and local authorities states that, as a broad rule of thumb, the Government are prepared to consider any secondary school where fewer than 30 per cent. of pupils gained five or more good GCSEs (including English and Maths) as a potential academy project. It also states that local authorities should always consider an academy as an option for dealing with a school in special measures, or subject to an improvement notice, whatever its results.

Academies: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent estimate he has made of funding per head for pupils in  (a) academies and  (b) all secondary schools in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: For the financial year 2007-08 the average revenue funding per pupil at academies is £5,966 excluding any payments made by or through local authorities. The budget share for an academy is calculated using the funding formula for the local authority in which it is situated. Sixth form funding is calculated using the Learning and Skills Council formula.
	Since 2006-07 secondary schools have been funded by the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). The DSG is distributed through a single guaranteed unit of funding per pupil so a split between primary and secondary funding is not available.
	In 2007-08 the national average DSG allocation was £3,888 per pupil for nursery, primary and secondary school aged pupils. Additional revenue grants were £571 per pupil, making a total of £4,459 per pupil.
	The revenue grants figure is provisional and does not include grants allocated by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).
	The academies figure is not comparable with that for maintained schools because it includes 16+ funding; and most academy pupils are of secondary age whereas the DSG figure is for pupils aged three to 15. Furthermore, most academies have high levels of deprivation and this increases their funding level per pupil.

Adoption: Standards

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which local authorities have received payments from central Government for achieving adoption target levels; and how much each received in each of the last three years.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	30 local authorities have been rewarded for successfully achieving adoption targets in their local public service agreements (LPSA). The better outcomes and amount of 'performance reward grant' (PRG) each has received over the three years 2004/05 to 2006/07 in relation to their performance in these targets is set out in the following table. In addition, 13 local authorities did not achieve the adoption targets in their local PSA and hence received no PRG for this target. One local authority is still to make a claim
	Local PSAs—which are negotiated between local authorities and central Government policy departments, facilitated by the DCLG—have helped to incentivise local authorities and partners to provide better public services to their citizens around priorities for improvement locally. Evaluation shows they have been successful in doing this, with real benefits in improved outcomes for local people and communities.
	
		
			  Local PSA adoption and placement targets: payments made to date under local PSAs 
			  Local authority  Amount of 'reward grant' paid (£) 
			 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council 210,173.00 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 307,367.00 
			 Bristol City Council 307,512.00 
			 Buckinghamshire County Council 526,958.00 
			 Bromley (LB) 499,440.00 
			 Camden (LB) 318,916.50 
			 Cheshire County Council 685,134.00 
			 Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council 578,333.00 
			 Durham County Council 502,675.00 
			 Enfield (LB) 244,963.00 
			 Essex County Council 2,469,200.00 
			 Gloucestershire County Council 612,209.00 
			 Greenwich (LB) 580,996.00 
			 Halton Borough Council 153,938.00 
			 Hampshire 1,675,619.00 
			 Hounslow (LB) 165,019.00 
			 Kensington and Chelsea (LB) 339,117.00 
			 Kent County Council 2,156,583.00 
			 Lewisham (LB) 602,854.00 
			 Liverpool City Council 347,404.00 
			 Luton Borough Council 400,027.00 
			 Manchester City Council 984,877.00 
			 Merton Borough Council 358,708.00 
			 Northamptonshire County Council 1,119,115.00 
			 Sheffield City Council 1,025,000.00 
			 Southwark (LB) 435,242.00 
			 St. Helens Metropolitan Borough Council 83,845.00 
			 Wandsworth (LB) 387,627.00 
			 Warwickshire County Council 231,061.00 
			 York City Council 203,620.00

Asylum

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the evidential basis was for the statement in the Care Matters White Paper that 95 per cent. of asylum claims are rejected.

Beverley Hughes: The evidence basis for the statement in the Care Matters White Paper regarding the percentage of negative decisions made on asylum claims from UASC was sourced from the Immigration Research and Statistics Service which is available from the Home Office website in two different formats.
	 1. National Statistics:
	Statistics on UASC applications are published as part of the quarterly asylum bulletin. Statistics on UASC are also available in the annual asylum bulletin.
	The most up to date data on the outcome of UASC asylum claims can be found on page 10 (point 12) of the Asylum Statistics United Kingdom 2005, these statistics show that the numbers of UASC granted refugee status or humanitarian protection (HP) is very low (five per cent. in 2005). This document is available via the following link. The 2006 annual publication, and Q2 2007 quarterly publication will be published on August 21.
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
	 2. Management Information:
	The management information report is produced quarterly and contains more detailed statistics on UASC. This report can also be sourced from the same website link as before.

Bishops Park College

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library copies of the correspondence between his officials and Essex local education authority on the decision to build Bishops Park college in Clacton.

Jim Knight: This information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost to the Department.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2007,  Official Report, column 90W, on the Building Schools for the Future programme, whether the recommendations of the review have been implemented;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2007,  Official Report, column 90W, on the Building Schools for the Future programme, for what reason HM Treasury was a joint commissioner of the review.

Jim Knight: The reports and other associated documentation following joint Prime Minister's Delivery Unit (PMDU) reviews are confidential advice to Ministers and are not put into the public domain. This includes terms of reference and other documentation connected with the substance of the review. The action plan to address the recommendations of the review is an ongoing piece of work.

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Private Finance Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2007,  Official Report, column 92W, on Building Schools for the Future (BSF): private finance initiative, how much funding from his Department's capital budget was spent on the BSF schools already built in each financial year, broken down into expenditure on newly built and refurbished schools and the seven new-build BSF schools that are under construction.

Kevin Brennan: BSF schools which are complete were funded as part 5 of a "Quick Wins" initiative. Funding from the capital budget for these projects is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 New build 4.5 10.8 0.4 
			 Remodelled/refurbished 3.5 6.5 1.3 
			 Total 8.0 17.3 1.7 
		
	
	There are currently 30 new build schools under construction. Of these, 23 are being procured through the private finance initiative scheme and so will not receive any funding until the schools open. Capital funding of £18 million was provided to authorities in 2006-07 to meet milestone payments for those conventionally funded new build schools currently under construction.

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Private Finance Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2007,  Official Report column 92W, on Building Schools for the Future (BSF): private finance initiative (PFI), how his Department decides whether BSF schools will be procured as part of PFI schemes.

Kevin Brennan: The procurement strategy for BSF projects is determined on value for money grounds. Local authorities are required to carry out a detailed options appraisal which considers different procurement and funding methods for the schools in a project using both quantitative (discounted cash flow) and qualitative analysis, in accordance with HM Treasury's 'Value for Money Assessment Guidance' of November 2006.

Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service: Accountability

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the principal responsibilities are of Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service support workers.

Kevin Brennan: This is a matter for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). Anthony Douglas, the Chief Executive, has written to the hon. Member with this information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.

Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service: Appeals

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service's self-regulated appeals procedures.

Kevin Brennan: This is a matter for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). Anthony Douglas, the chief executive, has written to the hon. Member with this information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Anthony Douglas, dated 25 July 2007:
	I am writing to you in response to the Parliamentary Question that you tabled recently:
	152736—To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service's self-regulated appeals procedures.
	Cafcass current complaints procedures provide for a review process in relation to all decisions made in response to service users complaints. An important part of the complaints procedures rests with the problem solving stage in which Cafcass makes every effort to understand the service users complaint, to address it and to respond to it. Cafcass has mechanisms for learning from those complaints and ensuring that lessons learnt from them are applied to its practice.
	Independent scrutiny of the application of Cafcass complaints procedures is provided by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, who, on request, will consider any complaint that Cafcass has not operated its complaints procedures in a fair and reasonable way.
	In 2006 the former DfES produced new guidance and standards for complaints procedures for Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) and Local Authorities to put in place for children's services. On publication of the DfES guidance, Cafcass undertook an examination of its own complaints procedures as a direct comparison against those advised by the DfES Guidance. In December 2006 this comparative report was presented to the Cafcass Board Task Group on complaints procedures, which decided in principle that Cafcass should begin work on a revised complaints procedures that builds on the strengths of its current procedures whilst meeting the standards set down by the DfES guidance, unless in any specific respect there were clear reasons related to the nature of the work of Cafcass not to do so.
	In particular, the Cafcass Board made the decision that Cafcass complaints procedures should be revised to meet the requirements laid down within the DfES guidance in two respects:
	1. For the services of independent observers to be employed to oversee the progress of complaints investigations, in order to guarantee the process in terms of fairness and reasonableness.
	2. To include a final appeal process involving a panel of independent people.
	As a consequence Cafcass is currently in the process of redrafting its complaints procedures to meet these standards of independence as well as other aspects of the DfES guidance.
	A copy of this reply will be placed in the House Library.

Children: Day Care

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many people have participated in level 3 to 5 childcare training since the inception of the Transformation Fund; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many  (a) recruitment incentives,  (b) quality premiums and  (c) home grown graduate incentives have been paid from the Transformation Fund for child care; and at what cost;
	(3)  how much each local authority has received from the Transformation Fund since its inception.

Beverley Hughes: The Transformation Fund was introduced in April 2006 as a time-limited initiative to test out approaches to improving the qualifications of the early years workforce in the private, voluntary and independent sectors and to raise standards in the provision of early education and child care. Its particular focus has been to initiate action directed at ensuring all full day care settings are led by a graduate, through the availability of a quality premium, a recruitment incentive and, since December 2006, a home grown graduate incentive. It has also supported broader upskilling of the workforce to raise the numbers of staff qualified at Level 3, 4 and 5 as well as to train staff to work with children with additional needs.
	The Department does not collect data on the number of people who are participating in Level 3 to 5 training via the Transformation Fund. However, based on returns from local authorities, over 18,000 settings (including over 4,200 childminders) have received support through the Transformation Fund for one or more of the five eligible strands identified above.
	According to returns from local authorities, as of March 2007:
	(a) 428 full day care settings received the Recruitment Incentive at a cost of £1,218,218;
	(b) 1,152 full day care settings received the Quality Premium at a cost of £4,506,676; and
	(c) 282 full day care settings received the Home Grown Graduate Incentive at a cost of £448,608 (this element started in December 2006).
	The following table sets out out-turn data for 2006-07 based on the unaudited financial statements received to date from local authorities.
	
		
			  Transformation Fund expenditure 2006-07 based on local authorities unaudited financial statements as at July 24 2007 
			  Local Authority  Unaudited 2006-07 expenditure (£) 
			 Barking and Dagenham 100,294 
			 Barnet (1)236,512 
			 Barnsley 34,477 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 72,365 
			 Bedfordshire 184,637 
			 Bexley 62,829 
			 Birmingham 202,702 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 201,093 
			 Blackpool 104,901 
			 Bolton 152,274 
			 Bournemouth 143,647 
			 Bracknell Forest 68,231 
			 Bradford 346,169 
			 Brent 196,192 
			 Brighton and Hove 110,643 
			 Bristol 272,896 
			 Bromley 413,363 
			 Buckinghamshire 127,277 
			 Bury 74,243 
			 Calderdale 92,087 
			 Cambridgeshire 381,236 
			 Camden (1)164,321 
			 Cheshire 443,191 
			 City of London 5,970 
			 Cornwall 361,820 
			 Coventry 102,718 
			 Croydon 286,194 
			 Cumbria 385,287 
			 Darlington 92,938 
			 Derby 189,830 
			 Derbyshire 550,868 
			 Devon (1)321,845 
			 Doncaster 261,391 
			 Dorset 250,341 
			 Dudley 28,907 
			 Durham 408,083 
			 Ealing 71,301 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 136,864 
			 East Sussex 183,253 
			 Enfield 93,068 
			 Essex 614,970 
			 Gateshead 64,751 
			 Gloucestershire 443,612 
			 Greenwich 111,147 
			 Hackney 266,990 
			 Halton 134,730 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 146,702 
			 Hampshire 819,258 
			 Haringey (1)190,246 
			 Harrow 51,920 
			 Hartlepool 89,369 
			 Havering 48,166 
			 Herefordshire 111,624 
			 Hertfordshire 446,886 
			 Hillingdon 44,407 
			 Hounslow (1)157,227 
			 Isle of Wight 119,110 
			 Isles of Scilly 18,305 
			 Islington 199,017 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 196,244 
			 Kent 903,396 
			 Kingston upon Hull 187,123 
			 Kingston upon Thames 91,449 
			 Kirklees 339,249 
			 Knowsley 10,744 
			 Lambeth 11,984 
			 Lancashire 488,578 
			 Leeds 54,370 
			 Leicester City 49,051 
			 Leicestershire 24,264 
			 Lewisham 201,062 
			 Lincolnshire 352,206 
			 Liverpool 179,612 
			 Luton 190,173 
			 Manchester 130,004 
			 Medway 288,554 
			 Merton 71,036 
			 Middlesbrough 131,070 
			 Milton Keynes 159,363 
			 NE Lincolnshire 166,805 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne (1)136,612 
			 Newham 181,102 
			 Norfolk 161,075 
			 North Lincolnshire (1)83,974 
			 North Somerset 119,754 
			 North Tyneside 177,479 
			 North Yorkshire 350,678 
			 Northamptonshire 189,524 
			 Northumberland 230,933 
			 Nottingham City 115,823 
			 Nottinghamshire 587,501 
			 Oldham 101,933 
			 Oxfordshire 302,496 
			 Peterborough (1)105,779 
			 Plymouth 176,670 
			 Poole 71,942 
			 Portsmouth 198,874 
			 Reading 61,094 
			 Redbridge 316,977 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 119,535 
			 Richmond upon Thames 166,123 
			 Rochdale 288,925 
			 Rotherham 176,394 
			 Rutland 37,586 
			 Salford 157,618 
			 Sandwell 55,616 
			 Sefton 252,575 
			 Sheffield 246,813 
			 Shropshire 261,923 
			 Slough 37,379 
			 Solihull 161,445 
			 Somerset 385,671 
			 South Gloucestershire 208,577 
			 South Tyneside 79,544 
			 Southampton 126,214 
			 Southend 145,648 
			 Southwark (1)219,576 
			 St. Helens 77,731 
			 Staffordshire 393,587 
			 Stockport 242,465 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 178,610 
			 Stoke on Trent (1)133,844 
			 Suffolk (1)357,376 
			 Sunderland 238,192 
			 Surrey 402,868 
			 Sutton (1)115,767 
			 Swindon 164,643 
			 Tameside (1)125,815 
			 Telford and the Wrekin 58,582 
			 Thurrock 175,291 
			 Torbay 94,494 
			 Tower Hamlets (1)207,256 
			 Trafford 74,411 
			 Wakefield 82,485 
			 Walsall 30,206 
			 Waltham Forest 155,331 
			 Wandsworth 362,376 
			 Warrington 183,121 
			 Warwickshire (1)275,525 
			 West Berkshire 45,033 
			 West Sussex 279,449 
			 Westminster 344,036 
			 Wigan 286,253 
			 Wiltshire 290,866 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 102,758 
			 Wirral 53,910 
			 Wokingham 115,643 
			 Wolverhampton (1)143,474 
			 Worcestershire 310,791 
			 York 145,270 
			 Total 29,265,873 
			 (1 )These local authorities have still to submit returns and therefore notional expenditure has been shown which is based on an assumption of same spend rate as the 134 local authorities that have submitted statements.

Class Sizes

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average class size was in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in each (i) Government region and (ii) local education authority in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The information requested has been placed in the House Library.
	Further information on class sizes can be found in SFR 16/2007 'Pupil Characteristics and Class Sizes in Maintained Schools in England, January 2007 (Provisional)', which was published on 26 April 2007. This publication is available in the Library and on the Department's website here:
	http:/www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000726/index.shtml

Departments: Affairs

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2007,  Official Report, column 94W, on departments: affairs, what the value and purpose was of each payment by his Department to Atkins (formerly WS Atkins) as part of the Academies Programme since 2001.

Kevin Brennan: The value of the payments made to Atkins as part of the Academies Programme for each financial year since 2001-02 to date is shown in the following table.
	The payments were made for an advisory service on capital project design and other support services for the academies programme.
	
		
			  Financial year  Total paid (£) 
			 2001-02 45,645 
			 2002-03 556,658 
			 2003-04 1,207,456 
			 2004-05 2,013,071 
			 2005-06 2,860,574 
			 2006-07 2,825,659 
			 2007-08 (1)739,292 
			 (1 )Up to 26 July 2007

Departments: Air Conditioning

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent by his Department and its predecessor and its agencies on the hire of mobile air conditioning units in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: The Department for Children, Schools and Families or its predecessor has spent no money on the hire of mobile air conditioning units in the five years to April 2007.

Departments: Common Purpose

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department paid to Common Purpose in each of the last five years; for what purpose; and what the outcome of the expenditure was.

Kevin Brennan: The former Department for Education and Skills concluded a contract in September 2004 for £28,800 and April 2005 for £22,900 with Common Purpose to provide challenging and diverse learning experiences for future leaders. Participants were able to research and explore how the Department's policies impacted "on the ground" in relation to the Department's Five Year Strategy, and gain a greater appreciation of how Government policies were interpreted and implemented by service deliverers in public, private and voluntary/community sectors and the constraints facing different organisations.
	In addition Common Purpose South Yorkshire currently has free use of a small accommodation unit in the Sheffield site of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Departments: Early Retirement

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of staff in his Department and its predecessor took early retirement in the last five years, broken down by grade; and at what cost.

Jim Knight: The information is not available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	In the former DFES, there have been voluntary early severance and retirement releases. For the 2002-03 financial year to the end of the 2006-07 financial year, the total number and cost for such releases from the former DFES were as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Number  of early releases (from former DFES)  Total cost (to former DFES) (£ million) 
			 2002-03 57 5.57 
			 2003-04 28 2.54 
			 2004-05 332 17.1 
			 2005-06 204 15.1 
			 2006-07 156 10.55

Departments: Flowers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent by his Department on flowers in the last 12 months.

Kevin Brennan: The Department did not commit any expenditure on flowers in the last 12 months.

Departments: Legislation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which Bills in policy areas for which his Department is responsible introduced in the last five years contained sunset clauses; and what plans he has for the future use of such clauses.

Kevin Brennan: The following table sets out the Acts, introduced by the Department's predecessors in the last five years which contained sunset clauses:
	
		
			  Act  Section  
			 Education Act 2002 2(7) Power to suspend statutory requirements etc. 
			 Children Act 2004 47 Expiry of powers in sections 45 and 46 
			 Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 16(6) Exceptions to requirement to make a monitoring check 
		
	
	The appropriateness of a sunset clause for the whole or part of any proposed legislation is considered on a case by case basis. It is also addressed when a regulatory impact assessment relating to legislation is being prepared.

Departments: Legislation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which Bills introduced by his Department and its predecessors in areas within his Department's responsibility in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The following Acts, introduced by the Department's predecessors in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses
	Education Act 2005
	Education and Inspections Act 2006
	Children and Adoption Act 2006

Departments: Marketing

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent on replacing the former Department for Education and Skills with his Department including introducing a new corporate identity; and how much he expects total expenditure on transition to be.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 4 July 2007
	The costs of setting up the Department for Children, Schools and Families are expected to be met within existing departmental budgets.

Departments: Pay

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many bonuses were awarded to senior civil servants working at his Department and its agencies in each year between 1997 and 2006; and what the total cost of those bonuses was.

Kevin Brennan: The Department for Children, Schools and Families was formed in June 2007 from parts of the former Department for Education and Skills (DfES), which was itself formed in 2001.
	Information is available for all senior civil servants in the former DfES for the years 2005/06 and 2004/05, and is shown in the following table. The Department had no agencies.
	
		
			   Number of bonus awards made to senior civil servants in DfES  Total cost of the bonuses awarded (£) 
			 2004/05 98 506,039 
			 2005/06 96 627,303 
		
	
	There is no information available for previous years.

Departments: Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in his Department in the last three years; and at what total cost.

Kevin Brennan: Information for Executive Assistant to Grade 6 bonus payments received in 2006-07 is not yet available. Members of the senior civil service will not receive their bonus payments until November 2007.
	For Department's (formerly the DfES) most up to date information, I refer the hon. Member to the reply my predecessor gave on 8 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1706W.

Departments: Postal Services

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what volume of correspondence his Department sent  (a) by Royal Mail and  (b) by other commercial delivery services in each of the last five years; and what the reasons were for the use of other commercial delivery services.

Kevin Brennan: The former Department for Education and Skills (DfES) sent, between 1 June 2006 and 31 May 2007, 1,472,641 items of correspondence from its Head Office post rooms via the Royal Mail. Volumes for the preceding four years could be supplied only at disproportionate cost. The former DfES did not use any other commercial delivery services for its correspondence.

Departments: Publicity

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of advertising commissioned for policy areas within his Department, including relevant campaigns commissioned by its predecessor in the last 12 months.

Kevin Brennan: In 2006-07, the former Department for Education and Skills spent these amounts on advertising as part of integrated information campaigns:
	
		
			   £000 
			 Student finance 2,476 
			 Adult basic skills 1,805 
			 Teenage pregnancy 1,534 
			 Child care recruitment 405 
		
	
	All of these were evaluated against targets for response (calls to a campaign telephone number or hits on a website). The first three, where the advertising spend was more substantial, were additionally evaluated through independent customer research which tracked the campaign impact against its objectives, measuring levels of customer awareness and exploring shifts in attitude and behaviour among the target audience. Additionally, £0.045 million was spent on an advertising insert targeting the children and young people's work force, which was not evaluated due to the size of the advertising spend.
	All departmental advertising is bought on our behalf by the Central Office of Information (COI), which is able to use its purchasing power to negotiate significant discounts, ensuring that our advertising budgets are cost effective in the amount of media they purchase. In 2005-06; the most recent year in which records are available, COI achieved cost savings for Government clients of 44.1 per cent. against industry benchmarks.

Departments: Publicity

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of advertising commissioned by his Department and the former Department for Education and Skills in areas within his Department's responsibility in the last 12 months.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 2 August to parliamentary question 148512.

Departments: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his Department's targets are; what the performance was against each target at the most recent date; which targets have been  (a) dropped and  (b) amended in the last 24 months; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: With regard to the Spending Review 2004 PSA targets which my Department is responsible for, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 19 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 531-32W. Performance against these PSA targets is set out in the former Department for Education and Skills' 2007 departmental report (CM 7092), Two of my Department's PSA targets have been amended since the 2004 Spending Review: PSA target 1 (children's communication and social and emotional development); and PSA target 2 (the use of formal child care by lower-income families).

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent by his Department on  (a) staff training and  (b) communication training in the last 12 months.

Jim Knight: Costs for staff and communication training for the former DfES are available from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007 in the following table:
	
		
			  Budget  Cost (£) 
			 Communications training 49,204 
			 Learning and Development 2,259,991

Departments: Visits Abroad

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many overseas visits were made by  (a) officials and  (b) Ministers within his responsibility, and at what cost, in each year since 1997.

Edward Balls: Details of overseas visits by officials over the last seven financial years are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Numbers of visits  Cost (£) 
			 2001-02 226 138,964 
			 2002-03 375 240,768 
			 2003-04 423 197,297 
			 2004-05 398 167,675 
			 2005-06 455 251,630 
			 2006-07 405 251,328 
		
	
	In respect of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers, since 1999, the Government has published on an annual basis, a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500, as well as the total cost of all ministerial travel overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2006-07 is currently being compiled and will be published before the summer recess. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.

Education: Disabled

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will include educational attainment as a criterion for the national indicator for disabled children's services.

Kevin Brennan: The Government committed to develop a national disabled children's indicator as part of a Public Service Agreement in the report 'Aiming high for Disabled Children' (May 2007). The report outlines some of the issues to be considered in developing the indicator and we expect the indicator to be finalised later in the year.
	The Government are also agreeing a national indicator set for local government, which will include many of the indicators that will be used to measure progress at a national level on the Public Service Agreements over the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 period. This set will include indicators related to educational attainment and will be finalised later in the year.

Education: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of school lessons were judged by Ofsted as unsatisfactory in each reporting period since 1993-94; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Library.

Free School Meals

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils in each  (a) local education authority and  (b) in each type of school received free school meals and came from single parent homes in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The requested information is not collected centrally.

Free School Meals

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many children were  (a) entitled to and  (b) received free school meals in each year from 2002-03 to 2006-07; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many free school meals have been served in each year from 1990-91 to 2006-07 in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools; and what the total (i) primary and (ii) secondary school population was in each year.

Kevin Brennan: Information on the quality, availability and uptake of school meals generally is not held centrally. However, information on free school meals for maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools for January 2007 is contained in the following table:
	
		
			   Maintained nursery and primary  Maintained secondary 
			 School population 4,149,600 3,273,500 
			 Number entitled to free school meals 659,100 429,900 
			 Number receiving free school meals 544,300 314,700 
			 Those receiving free school meals as a proportion of school population 13.1 9.6 
		
	
	Figures for earlier years are not readily available.
	Also, figures from the School Food Trust's 2006 annual survey of school meals take up in England showed that take up of school meals in 2005-06 was 42.3 per cent. in primary schools and 42.7 per cent. in secondary schools. Findings from the 2007 survey will be available in August.

Head Teachers: Early Retirement

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many head teachers took early retirement in each of the last three years.

Kevin Brennan: The information is not available.

Higher Education: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students from  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex were allocated university places in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of entrants to higher education institution in the UK for each year since 1997/98 are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of entrants( 1)  to undergraduate courses from East Sussex local authority and Eastbourne constituency—UK higher education institutions( 2) —academic years 1997/98 to 2005/06 
			  Academic year  Eastbourne constituency  East Sussex local authority 
			 1997/98 595 3,565 
			 1998/99 645 3,880 
			 1999/2000 670 3,920 
			 2000/01 650 3,805 
			 2001/02 660 3,975 
			 2002/03 710 4,265 
			 2003/04 740 4,115 
			 2004/05 780 4,155 
			 2005/06 790 4,370 
			 (1) Covers students on full-time and part-time modes of study. (2) Exclude the Open University.  Note: Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December (excluding those writing up, on sabbatical or dormant) for comparability and are rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Higher Education: Finance

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding per  (a) undergraduate and  (b) postgraduate student the Government provided to (i) the University of York and (ii) York St. John University in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested can be found in the following tables, however it is not possible to provide a comparable time series as the changes in the funding models vary from year to year. Information prior to 1998-99 is not available on a similar basis to the later years and has therefore been shown in separate tables.
	
		
			  University of York 
			Teaching funding 
			 1996-97 Undergraduate (UG) (including Post Graduate PGT) 2,561 
			  Post Graduate Research (PGR) 1,507 
			
			 1997-98 UG (including PGT) 2,567 
			  PGR 1,592 
		
	
	
		
			  Not a time series   Rates for standard teaching funding  Home and EC HEFCE-funded FTEs (T model)  Rate for PGR supervision fund  Widening participation funding  Rewarding and developing staff funding 
			 1998-99  — — — — — 
			  UG 2,790 4,395 — — — 
			  PGT 1,670 551 — — — 
			  PGR 2,169 261 3,251 — — 
			
			 1999-2000  — — — 102,188 — 
			  UG 2,885 4,884 — — — 
			  PGT 1,847 585 — — — 
			  PGR 2,397 237 3,502 — — 
			
			 2000-01  — — — 166,031 — 
			  UG 3,114 4,681 — — — 
			  PGT 2,073 483 — — — 
			  PGR 2,534 250 3,542 — — 
			
			 2001-02  — — — 234,295 594,163 
			  UG 3,083 5,005 — — — 
			  PGT 1,914 530 — — — 
			  PGR 2,615 255 3,525 — — 
			
			 2002-03  — — — 275,075 896,460 
			  UG 3,080 5,347 — — — 
			  PGT 1,676 535 — — — 
			  PGR 2,576 228 3,393 — — 
			
			 2003-04  — — — 527,255 1,382,345 
			  UG 2,985 5,584 — — — 
			  PGT 1,620 587 — — — 
			  PGR 2,531 238 3,521 — — 
			
			 2004-05  — — — 496,396 — 
			  UG 3,282 5,854 — — — 
			  PGT 1,499 639 — — — 
			  PGR 3,111 225 3,830 — — 
			
			 2005-06  — — — 415,284 — 
			  UG 3,435 6,017 — — — 
			  PGT 1,603 580 — — — 
			  PGR — — 5,981 — — 
			
			 2006-07  — — — 474,067 — 
			  UG 3,545 6,201 — — — 
			  PGT 1,606 684 — — — 
			  PGR — — 5,997 — — 
			
			 2007-08  — — — 470,916 — 
			  UG 3,724 6,443 — — — 
			  PGT 1,704 681 — — — 
			  PGR — — 5,777 — — 
		
	
	
		
			  York St. John university (formerly university college of York St. John) 
			Teaching funding 
			 1996-97 UG (including PGT) 2,043 
			  PGR 0 
			
			 1997-98 UG (including PGT) 2,099 
			  PGR 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Not a time series   Rates for standard teaching funding  Home and EC HEFCE-funded FTEs (T model)  Rate for PGR supervision fund  Widening participation funding  Rewarding and developing staff funding 
			 1998-99  — — — — — 
			  UG 2,538 2,176 — — — 
			  PGT 662 71 — — — 
			  PGR 1,078 7 2,306 — — 
			
			 1999-2000  — — — 55,569 — 
			  UG 2,564 2,278 — — — 
			  PGT 698 119 — — — 
			  PGR 2,027 11 2,463 — — 
			
			 2000-01  — — — 83,751 — 
			  UG 2,594 2,248 — — — 
			  PGT 508 109 — — — 
			  PGR 1,357 8 0 — — 
			
			 2001-02  — — — 127,921 150,507 
			  UG 2,591 2,531 — — — 
			  PGT 524 87 — — — 
			  PGR 643 2 2,491 — — 
			
			 2002-03  — — — 180,693 230,234 
			  UG 2,732 2,449 — — — 
			  PGT 256 114 — — — 
			  PGR 997 1 0 — — 
			
			 2003-04  — — — 834,033 458,237 
			  UG 2,608 2,476 — — — 
			  PGT 416 108 — — — 
			  PGR 628 4 0 — — 
			
			 2004-05  — — — 825,072 — 
			  UG 3,002 2,463 — — — 
			  PGT 169 111 — — — 
			  PGR 1,255 4 0 — — 
			
			 2005-06  — — — 990,469 — 
			  UG 3,090 2,499 — — — 
			  PGT 137 80 — — — 
			  PGR — — 0 — — 
			
			 2006-07  — — — 1,157,970 — 
			  UG 3,180 2,582 — — — 
			  PGT 233 96 — — — 
			  PGR — — 0 — — 
			
			 2007-08  — — — 1,260,809 — 
			  UG 3,273 2,606 — — — 
			  PGT 312 120 — — — 
			  PGR — — 0 — —

Literacy: Teaching Methods

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what use his Department plans to make of the voluntary and community sector in delivering personalised learning and one-to-one tuition in English in the Making Good Progress pilot areas; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: Reading mentors are an invaluable resource for many schools in supporting children to read well. The Department is currently providing funding to Volunteer Reading Help (VRH)—a charitable organisation which recruits, trains and places volunteers to give one-to-one help twice a week to children aged 6-11 years who find reading a challenge. Currently VRH has around 2,000 volunteer readers working with around 5,000 children.
	In the 'Making Good Progress' pilot, each pilot local authority will be responsible for making arrangements for delivering tuition including overseeing the recruitment of suitable tutors, who must be qualified teachers, and organising locations for the tuition to take place. We know that some local authorities are liaising with community groups who have offered venues for tuition.
	The wider picture is that over £1 billion has been invested in personalised learning by 2007-08, Our guidance to schools indicated that our priorities for the funding were: to support intervention and catch-up provision for children who have fallen behind in English and maths; to support the education of gifted and talented learners; and to help learners from deprived backgrounds to access after school and year-round activities. It is for schools to decide how to use this money to provide more tailored support for their pupils.

Literacy: Teaching Methods

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what delivery partners his Department will work with to deliver one-to-one tuition in reading and literacy in  (a) Making Good Progress pilot local authorities and  (b) other local authorities in England; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how one-to-one tuition for low-attaining pupils will be delivered under the Making Good Progress pilots; who will deliver this tuition; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: In the "Making Good Progress" pilot one-to-one tuition will be an out of school hours programme of up to 10 hours of individual tuition in English and/or mathematics. Tutors will liaise with the class teacher to ensure that the tuition that they offer meets the needs of the child and is closely tied in to the work that the child is doing in class. Each pilot local authority will be responsible for making its own arrangements for delivering tuition, including overseeing the recruitment of suitable tutors, who must be qualified teachers, and organising locations for tuition to take place.
	We are now in the third and final year of the "Every Child a Reader" pilot, funded by a collaboration between the DfES, KPMG Foundation and other charitable trusts. The pilot is helping 5,000 six-year-olds with significant learning difficulties to learn to read. It does this by placing specialist literacy teachers into schools to provide intensive one-to-one or small group support to children most in need. Results from the first year of the pilot showed that children made well over four times the normal rate of progress. As a result, a national roll-out will begin from 2008-09 benefiting over 30,000 children a year by 2011.

Ofsted: Operating Costs

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the running costs of Ofsted were in each year from 1992-93 to 2006-07; what Ofsted's planned running costs are in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Library.

Primary Education: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much funding the  (a) business sector and  (b) voluntary sector has committed to the Every Child a Reader programme, broken down by financial year;
	(2)  how much funding the  (a) business sector and  (b) voluntary sector is expected to commit to the Every Child a Reader programme in each financial year until 2010-11;
	(3)  how much has been set aside for the Every Child a Reader programme in each of the years covered by his Department's Comprehensive Spending Review settlement announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's 2007 Budget;
	(4)  how much has been spent on the Every Child a Reader programme in each financial year since its inception.

Kevin Brennan: Contributions from business-led charitable funders to the three year Every Child a Reader pilot are approximately £1.25 million in 2005-06, £1.85 million in 2006-07 and £2.35 million in 2007-08. The 2007 pre-Budget report announced that the ECAR programme would be rolled out nationally from 2008-09, benefiting 30,000 children a year by 2010-11. We are in discussions about the funding of the national roll-out and no decisions have yet been taken.
	Taking into account the Department's contribution to ECAR, a total of £10 million has been spent on the pilot since its inception in 2005-06. Broken down by financial year, this equates to approximately £1.5 million in 2005-06, £4 million in 2006-07 and £4.5 million in 2007-08.
	In addition, over the three years of the ECAR pilot 2005-08, the KPMG Foundation has contributed administrative costs at £500,000 and the Department has funded the Institute of Education £1.2 million to support the national and local training infrastructure.

Primary Education: Literacy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children  (a) have participated in the Every Child a Reader programme in each financial year since its inception and  (b) are expected to participate in the Every Child a Reader programme in each financial year until 2010-11.

Kevin Brennan: Since the inception of the three year Every Child a Reader (ECAR) pilot, 542 children participated in the pilot in 2005-06, 1,750 children in 2006-07 and we estimate that 2,340 children will participate in 2007-08.
	The Every Child a Reader programme will roll-out nationally from 2008-09. no decisions about the delivery have yet been taken but 30,000 children will benefit from the programme by 2010-11.

Pupil Exclusions: Intimidation

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the number is of incidents of bullying which have led to the exclusion of a pupil from their school in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) local authority and  (b) type of bullying.

Kevin Brennan: The available information has been placed in the House Library.
	Only three years of data relating to the reason for exclusion are currently available. The first year for which information on the reason for exclusion is available relates to the 2003/04 academic year. Exclusions data for 2005/06 academic year were published in June 2007.
	Information on type of bullying is not collected centrally. The information provided shows the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions by reason, which includes 'Bullying'.

Pupils: Intimidation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the value for money of expenditure on its anti-bullying policies;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 1092-94, on pupils: intimidation, to how many schools the National Strategies gave additional support with anti-bullying work in each financial year since 2002-03;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 1092-94, on pupils: intimidation, what percentage of schools were using the principles of the Charter to draw up effective anti-bullying policies in each financial year since 2002-03;
	(4)  pursuant to the answers of 11 June 2007,  Official Report, column 795W and 4 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1092W, on pupils: intimidation, if he will clarify the allocation of funds for tackling bullying to  (a) organisations and  (b) programmes.

Kevin Brennan: PricewaterhouseCoopers recently completed an evaluation of the Department's programme of work with the Anti-Bullying Alliance, the main organisation which the Department funds for anti-bullying work. The PWC report was generally positive, but suggested that some elements of the work should be put out to tender. The Department is currently preparing tender documents for future elements of the anti-bullying work programme.
	The Department's programme of work with the National Strategies Regional Advisers—to spread good practice and work with identified schools to support and challenge them in improving their anti-bullying policies and strategies—began this financial year. I refer the hon. Member to previous answer 147174, making clear that data on the number of schools supported are not held by the Department.
	The National Strategies began to monitor use of the Anti-Bullying Charter to inform effective policy and practice in secondary schools in March 2006. They have recorded a steady increase in the use of the principles of the Charter over the twice-yearly reporting cycle. They began to monitor primary schools as well in March 2007. The National Strategies advise that nearly 75 per cent. of secondary schools and over 50 per cent. of primary schools are using the principles of the Charter to draw up their own anti-bullying policies.
	I refer the hon. Member to answers provided previously on the issue of funding (141379, and 147173), which detailed overall allocations for anti-bullying work in each financial year since 2002 as well as the funds given to organisations that the Department has worked with. Funding not allocated to external organisations was used to support a variety of activities, including anti-bullying resources such as DVDs and hard-copies of guidance documents, local and national events, the preparation of guidance, research, and publicity campaigns.

Pupils: Qualifications

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to his answer of 5 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1127W, on pupils: qualifications, on what basis it was decided that a CACHE level 2 certificate in child care and education is equivalent to five GCSEs at A* to C for the purposes of the secondary school (GCSE and equivalent) performance tables.

Jim Knight: The performance points for qualifications reported in the Achievement and Attainment Tables are determined by the size of each qualification and the challenge it represents, where size is an indication of the time spent by a centre in supporting a learner and challenge based on the grades it is possible to achieve at a particular level within the National Qualifications Framework. Size is converted into a measure based on the guided learning hours attached to a qualification, with GCSEs having a size measure of one. The Cache Certificate in Child Care and Education at Level 2 currently accredited (Qualification Accreditation Number 100/0645/X) requires 480 guided learning hours which converts to a size measure of five.
	A revised version of this qualification has recently been accredited into the National Qualifications Framework (Qualification Accreditation Number 500/1886/3) and will be available to learners from 1 November 2007. The revised version will require 300 guided learning hours and will, therefore, have a size measure of three.
	The size indicators are based on set ranges of guided learning hours, or bands. At Levels 1 and 2, a qualification with between 90 and 144 guided learning hours (such as a GCSE) will have a size indicator of one, while a qualification with between 415 and 504 guided learning hours (such as the CACHE Level 2 Certificate in Child Care and Education) will have a size indicator of five. For the purposes of the SCAAT, the CACHE Level 2 Certificate has a size equivalence of five GCSEs.
	The challenge indicators are based on grades. Performance points are assigned to each grade within a grade range at each National Qualifications Framework level. An A* grade for a GCSE will attract 58 points, while a Distinction in a qualification with a three grade scheme such as the CACHE Level 2 Certificate in Child Care and Education, will attract 55 points. The points for a qualification are then multiplied by its size indicator to obtain its overall performance points scores.
	The performance points that a qualification attracts are used solely as a measure of an institution's performance, and are not a reflection of the amount of work a learner may need to undertake to achieve the qualification.
	A revised version of this qualification has recently been accredited into the National Qualifications Framework (Qualification Accreditation Number 500/1886/3) and will be available for learners from 1 November 2007. This revised version has a volume of 300 guided learning hours and will therefore have a size indicator of three.

Pupils: Questionnaires

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what use Ofsted will make of its lifestyle questionnaires for years six to eight pupils;
	(2)  how many complaints he has received about Ofsted's inquiry form for primary school pupils about drink, drugs and local facilities;
	(3)  what his policy is on preserving anonymity of pupils when answering Ofsted questionnaires about lifestyle.

Jim Knight: HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member to explain how Ofsted will use information obtained from its questionnaires about lifestyles. A copy of her reply has been placed in the House Library.
	I am aware of two letters received by the Department about the recent 'Tellus2' survey undertaken by Ofsted, both of which were referred to Ofsted for reply. I understand that Ofsted itself received seven queries from primary schools during the response period, three of which questioned the general suitability of some questions for younger children. Of these three, one specifically mentioned the question on drinking. These queries did not result in a complaint. Since the closure of the survey, Ofsted has received nine communications from parents, of which two expressed concern about the nature of the questions and two specifically mentioned the question on drinking. One of these latter two also mentioned the question on smoking. The primary school questionnaire did not include a question on drugs.
	Respondents to such questionnaires quite rightly have their anonymity protected. In the case of the Tellus2 survey, children and young people responded using an individual, randomly generated 'log in' identifier, rather than their names or dates of birth. Postcode information was collected, at the request of local authorities, to enable summary information to be produced about groups of children living in different parts of an authority. However, this was on the basis that data would only be reported if no individuals or schools could be identified from it.

Pupils: School Meals

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance he has issued to schools on checking the contents of children's home-made packed-lunches; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Department has not issued guidance to schools on checking the contents of children's home-made packed-lunches.
	The School Food Trust guidance on food-based standards for school lunches contains advice to caterers and schools on how to ensure packed lunches they provide meet the standards. In addition, the Food Standards Agency has produced guidance on
	providing healthy packed-lunches on its website.
	Some schools have school food policies that ban certain products from being brought into school in packed lunches. If schools do want to adopt such policies, we would strongly recommend that they consult with parents.

School Meals: Expenditure

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average daily expenditure on school meals by each local education authority was in each year since 1996-97.

Kevin Brennan: The Department does not collect data on the average daily expenditure on school meals by each local education authority.

School Meals: Nutrition

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what changes there have been to the consumption of  (a) chips,  (b) burgers and  (c) high fat foods in schools since 2004.

Kevin Brennan: New food-based nutritional standards were introduced in September 2006 for school lunches and similar standards will apply to other school food from September 2007. Nutrient-based standards will be introduced for school lunches in September 2008 for primary schools and September 2009 for secondary schools.
	These standards require that no more than two deep fried foods can be served in any single week. That includes deep-fried chips and oven-baked products which have been deep-fried as part of the manufacturing process, Limits have also been placed on the serving of meat products which mean that burgers can be served only once every two weeks. The nutrient-based standards will place limits on the levels of fat that can be served as part of a school lunch.

School Meals: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of new standards for school meals on levels of demand; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his estimate is of the total school meal uptake in secondary schools in  (a) 2003-04 and  (b) 2006-07; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what information is collected by his Department on the costs and take-up of school meals; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how many and what proportion of pupils in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools took school meals in each reporting period since 1997; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what recent representations he has received from the Local Authorities Caterers Association on school meals.

Kevin Brennan: The Department does not collect information about the cost of school meals or school lunch take-up. It has also not made an assessment of the new standards for school meals on levels of demand. However, the School Food Trust will be publishing in August the results of its annual survey on school lunch take-up. Early figures from that survey indicate that take-up in primary schools is down by 1.8 percentage points (to 40.6 per cent.) and in secondary schools by 5.3 percentage points (to 37.4 per cent.). And a recent survey by the Local Authority Caterers Association reported that total meal take-up has dropped over the three year period from 2003/04 to 2006/07. In primary schools the drop is 3 percentage points (to 40 per cent.) and in secondary schools 7 percentage points (to 35 per cent.).
	The take-up figures are not unexpected as schools often experience falling demand with the introduction of healthier food. But we are in the early stages of our long-term ambition to transform school food: and we have other measures planed for the short and the longer term to promote school lunch and encourage children to eat more healthily. We also know that where schools take steps to manage the changes carefully through, for example, good marketing and pupil and parent involvement, take up can rise sharply.

Schools: Catering

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what proportion of companies contracted by local authorities to provide catering services  (a) lost money,  (b) broke even and  (c) made a profit in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2005-06 and (iii) 2006-07; what estimate he has made of the number in each category in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the average school meal selling price to parents has been in each year since 2000-01; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Department does not collect information on the financial position of caterers or on the average school meal selling price. However, a recent survey from the Local Authority Caterers Association provided information on 2006/07 trading outturn forecasts for LA caterers which indicated that 9 per cent. would have a surplus, 26 per cent. would break even and 65 per cent. faced a deficit. The same survey reported on average school meal selling prices in primary schools, where the data shows an increase of 20 per cent. (from 1.37 to 1.64) between 2003/04 and 2006/07.

Schools: Catering

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many staff have been employed in the school meals service in each year since 1985-86.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Schools: Disabled

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what funding is available for the improvement of disabled access in Ribble Valley schools.

Jim Knight: Detailed information for Ribble Valley schools is not held centrally as the Department makes capital allocations mainly on a local authority area basis. All local authorities and schools receive capital allocations to support their local priorities. This is in addition to our strategic programmes such as Building Schools for the Future (BSF) and, from 2008-09, the roll out of the new Primary Capital Programme. In addition to Lancashire's investment through its BSF wave 1 project, over the current spending review period, 2005-06 to 2007-08, Lancashire authority and its schools have been allocated capital support of just over £139 million, of which over £41 million was allocated to Lancashire authority through the Single Capital Pot, including £4.4 million to support: the Schools Access Initiative to help make schools increasingly accessible.

Schools: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what increased resources are provided to schools on the basis of higher staff costs in some parts of the country; what the basis is of this allocation policy; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) gives local authorities allocations for multi year periods: the allocations for 2007-08 will depend on pupil numbers in schools in January 2007 and the per pupil guaranteed unit of funding.
	The DSG per pupil Guaranteed Unit of Funding is unchanged from that set in December 2005 and in:
	2006-07 was based on spend per pupil in 2005-06, with: a basic increase of 5 per cent. per pupil (5.1 per cent. for London authorities); and headroom allocated to reflect five ministerial priorities.
	2007-08 was based on the 2006-07 DSG Guaranteed Unit of Funding, with: a basic increase of 5 per cent. per pupil (5.1 per cent. for London authorities); and headroom allocated to reflect three ministerial priorities.
	As the DSG per pupil guaranteed unit of funding is based on spend per pupil in 2005-06 It will: reflect the higher expenditure caused by the higher staff costs in some parts of the country; and be influenced by Government funding in 2005-06 (see as follows). Each of the ministerial priorities included an Area Cost Adjustment (ACA) factor which reflects two kinds of difference between areas in costs:
	differences in labour costs (the 'Labour Cost Adjustment'); and
	differences in business rates paid on local authority premises (the 'Rates Cost Adjustment')
	The formula used to calculate Schools Formula Spending Share for 2005-06 and previous years took account of the higher staff costs in some parts of the country through the inclusion of the ACA factor.
	It is a matter for each local authority—in consultation with their Schools Forums—to determine the level of funding between different providers, based on an assessment of local circumstances.

Schools: Religious Sects

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance he has issued to schools on dealings with organisations which have been the subject of allegations of cultish behaviour, with particular regards to  (a) Friends of the Western Buddhist Order,  (b) New Kadampa Tradition and  (c) Soka Gakkai International; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Department has issued no such guidance. Religious education syllabuses for maintained schools without a religious designation are drawn up by an agreed syllabus conference which advises the local education authority. The non-statutory framework for Religious education was published in October 2004 and provides that pupils should be taught about Christianity, at least one other principle religion and a religious community with a significant local presence. It is up to schools and local authorities to decide upon resources and teaching methods and this would include checking the credentials of any organisation they chose to work with.

Schools: Sports

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools which have offered competitive school sports in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: Competitive games activities have been compulsory for all 5-14 year olds as part of the PE National Curriculum since 1992.
	The 2005/06 School Sport Survey, which collects data from schools in School Sport Partnerships, found that 97 per cent. (16,436) of schools held at least one competitive sports day in the year. In addition 10,725 competitive festivals of sport were staged.

Schools: Standards

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what average amount of time a school of each type spent in special measures in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the information requested, in respect of schools removed from special measures during the autumn term 2006 and the spring term 2007.
	
		
			  Type of school  Number of schools removed from special measures (including those closing or requiring significant improvement)  Total number of months spent in special measures  Average number of months in special measures 
			 Primary 50 807 16 
			 Secondary 25 578 23 
			 Special 4 72 18 
			 Pupil Referral Units 3 43 14 
		
	
	Turnaround times for schools in special measures have reduced since 1997. For example, the average time primary schools spent in special measures in 1997/98 academic year was 23 months. The equivalent figure for secondary schools was 28 months.

Schools: Standards

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools  (a) in each local education authority and  (b) of each type were classified as causing concern for more than two years in each of the last 10 years; and how many of those schools have since been closed.

Kevin Brennan: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Library.

Schools: Termination of Employment

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many members of school staff in each local education authority had their employment terminated because of inappropriate relations with a student in the last 12 months.

Kevin Brennan: Where employers in the education sector have ceased to use the services of a person because they consider that person is unsuitable to work with children, or they would have ceased to use the person's services where the person has left their employment, they are required to refer information to the Department. In addition, the Police refer to the Department cautions and convictions for those who have been working in educational establishments in accordance with Home Office Circular 6 / 2006 (The Notifiable Occupations Scheme). Therefore, school staff and others working with children are referred to the Department for a range of reasons including convictions or cautions for a wide range of offences, allegations involving various forms of misconduct, and referrals on the grounds of ill health.
	The total number of all types of referrals received by the Department over the 12 months until 31 December 2006 was 2,784. Identifying how many members of school staff in each local authority had their employment terminated because of inappropriate relations with a student in the last 12 months would require detailed checks to be made of individual case records and this would incur disproportionate cost.

Schools: Vivisection

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many teachers he plans to receive training to deal with vivisection in the classroom; and which organisations have been approached to contribute to that training.

Jim Knight: This Department is working in conjunction with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to launch a DVD based on the play 'Every Breath'. This and supporting materials for teachers will be available to schools in October.
	We have not yet appointed an organisation to develop and deliver training for teachers on discussing controversial topics In lessons, such as experiments involving animals.

Teachers

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many secondary schools in England had one fully qualified  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry,  (c) German,  (d) Mandarin and  (e) Urdu teacher in the most recent year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what proportion of teachers were on  (a) long-term and  (b) short-term sick leave in each local authority area in the most recent reporting period for which information is available; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what proportion of  (a) teacher and  (b) head teacher posts were vacant in (i) the latest reporting period and (ii) each year from 1997 to 2007;
	(4)  what proportion of secondary school teachers have trained to teach in their degree subject;
	(5)  what his estimate is of the total staff employed by each local education authority in each year from 1997-98;
	(6)  what his estimate is of the ratio of teachers to teaching assistants in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in each year since 1990.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on School Workforce has been published in SFR 15/2007 "School Workforce in England (including pupil:teacher ratios and pupil:adult ratios), January 2007 (Provisional)" which was released on 26 April 2007. This is available on the Department's website via the following link: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000725/index.shtml and is also available in the Library. This is an annual publication, which includes tables for January 1997 to 2007 on teacher numbers, support staff numbers, teacher vacancies, pupil:teacher ratios (PTRs) and pupil:adult ratios (PARs), teacher ethnicity and teacher sickness absence.

Teachers: Qualifications

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the minimum entry standards are for  (a) primary and  (b) secondary teachers in terms of (i) GCSEs, (ii) A levels and (iii) other qualifications; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: In order to enter an initial teacher training programme, trainee teachers must have at least a grade 'C' or equivalent in GCSE maths and English. For those teaching primary pupils, a grade 'C' or equivalent qualification in a science subject is also required.
	Initial teacher training providers will typically also set additional requirements for entry to initial teacher training courses such as A levels, NVQs or work experience.
	For a postgraduate course, trainee teachers must also have a degree. This also applies to the employment based routes into teaching; with the exception of the Registered Teacher Programme which requires that trainees have completed two years (240 CATS) of higher education.
	Regardless of the route, a first degree or an equivalent and passing the professional skills tests in numeracy, literacy and information communication technology is a requirement for the award of qualified teacher status (QTS).
	These requirements reflect a belief that all teachers should have a good standard of knowledge in the core subjects and that teaching is a job towards which our best and brightest young people should aspire. They also give parents confidence in the knowledge and competence of the teachers education their children.

Teachers: Training

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people are training to become  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school teachers, broken down by subject area; and how many were in such training in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: The following tables show the total number of trainees on ITT courses between 2002/03 and 2006/07 with the break down of secondary figures by subject, for mainstream and Employment Based Routes (EBR) trainees.
	
		
			  Number of trainees on mainstream primary and secondary ITT courses between 2002/03 and 2006/07 
			   Total number of trainees on ITT courses 
			   2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06  2006/07 
			 Primary 28,240 29,740 30,720 31,030 30,890 
			 Secondary 21,040 22,330 21,720 21,020 20,480 
			   
			  Secondary by subject  
			 Mathematics 2,160 2,440 2,470 2,370 2,400 
			 English (inc. drama) 2,440 2,440 2,380 2,260 2,250 
			 Science 3,250 3,330 3,260 3,330 3,390 
			 Modern Languages 1,890 1,970 1,750 1,580 1,580 
			 Technology(1) 3,340 3,540 3,350 3,190 3,230 
			 History 1,000 1,020 940 870 760 
			 Geography 1,090 1,080 970 860 810 
			 Physical education 2,820 3,010 2,910 2,880 2,780 
			 Art 910 960 880 800 660 
			 Music 750 750 710 700 690 
			 Religious education 620 630 680 720 850 
			 Citizenship 190 220 250 230 240 
			 Other(2) 500 540 580 540 500 
			 Vocational subjects(3) 0 160 280 350 330 
			 Fast Track(4) 90 240 310 330 0 
			 (1 )Technology includes design and technology, information and communications technology, business studies, graphics, textiles and food technology. (2) Other includes classics, dance, economics, media, performing arts and social studies. (3 )Vocational subjects include applied art and design, leisure and tourism, applied ICT, applied science, applied business, engineering, manufacturing, and health and social care. (4) The Fast Track recruitment programme ended in 2005/06.  Notes: 1. Figures for mainstream trainees include universities and other HE institutions, SCITT and OU, but exclude employment based routes. 2. Figures for 2006/07 are provisional and are subject to change. 3. Figures include trainees who are re-sitting all or part of their ITT programme. 4. Figures are for the total number of trainees on ITT courses therefore includes all trainees at all stages on courses of 1-5 year durations. 5. Figures are individually rounded to the nearest 10 and may not sum.  Source: ITT Trainee Number Census. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of trainees on Employment Based Routes primary and secondary ITT courses between 2002/03 and 2006/07 
			   Total number of trainees on ITT courses 
			   2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06  2006/07 
			 Primary 1,790 2,650 2,900 2,890 2,810 
			 Secondary 3,180 4,370 4,800 4,610 4,520 
			   
			  Secondary by subject  
			 Mathematics 400 580 570 530 480 
			 English (inc. drama) 670 880 950 960 940 
			 Science 530 670 750 680 600 
			 Modern Languages 230 320 290 260 230 
			 Technology(1) 680 820 860 780 690 
			 History 90 140 160 170 190 
			 Geography 60 100 110 90 100 
			 Physical education 150 310 450 430 510 
			 Art 90 110 150 160 160 
			 Music 80 140 130 150 170 
			 Religious education 80 90 110 130 150 
			 Citizenship 20 40 40 40 50 
			 Other(2) 110 150 190 170 180 
			 Vocational subjects 0 20 50 60 60 
			 (1) Technology includes design and technology (including textiles), food technology, information communications technology and business studies. (2 )Other includes dance, humanities, law, media studies, PHSE, psychology, classics, economics, social sciences and social studies. The category also includes recruits to Key Stage 2/3 with no subject specialism from 2002/03 to 2005/06.  Notes: 1. Numbers shown are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures include trainees through the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP), the Registered Teacher Programme (RTP), the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme (OTTP) and Teach First (TF). 3. Figures are taken from the employment based routes data management system (EBRDMS). 2006/07 figures are as at 23 July 2007 and are subject to change. Teach First began in 2003/04 and TF data has been included on EBRDMS since 2005/06. Figures for TF for 2003/04 and 2004/05 are taken from the Teach First organisation. 4. Trainees who withdrew before their programme start date are removed from the aforementioned data. 5. The aforementioned table is based on the assumption that all RTP trainees complete their training within two academic years. Therefore RTP trainees are counted in both the academic year in which their programme starts and in the following academic year. It should be noted that some courses may in fact be spread over three or more academic years. 6. The aforementioned table is based on the assumption that all GTP and OTTP trainees complete their training within one academic year. Therefore GTP and OTTP trainees are counted only once, in the academic year in which their programme starts. It should be noted that some courses may in fact be spread over two or more academic years. 7. TF is a two year programme, which includes one year's initial teacher training. Therefore TF trainees are counted once in the academic year in which their programme starts.  Source: TDA Employment Based Routes Database and the Teach First organisation.

Teachers: Training

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent on training teachers at  (a) the University of York and  (b) York St. John University in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2006-07.

Jim Knight: The main source of university funding for initial teacher training (ITT) is mainstream grant funding allocated and paid to them by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). The allocations to these two institutions were as follows:
	
		
			  Mainstream grant 
			   £ million  Number of places 
			 1996/97   
			 College of Ripon and York St. John 2.2 (1)771 
			 University of York 0.5 156 
			
			 2006/07   
			 College of Ripon and York St. John 3.8 827 
			 University of York 0.8 134 
			 (1) ITT places. 
		
	
	The TDA does not hold or collect information on how much either of these two universities spends directly on ITT. Although mainstream grant funding represents the single biggest source of funding for ITT, there are other sources such as tuition fees; and individual universities have discretion about how they allocate their total resources between ITT and non-ITT activities.

Teachers: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average cost was of training a  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school teacher in each financial year since 1999-2000.

Kevin Brennan: The Training and Development Agency for Schools in England (TDA) allocates grant funding to accredited initial teacher training (ITT) providers for the purpose of delivering initial teacher training courses. The amount of funding is based on the number of ITT trainees recruited and registered on courses. The unit of funding varies according to the type of ITT. The TDA does not collect information on how providers use that funding as the cost is only a comparatively small part of the total cost of ITT. Therefore, the Department does not hold comparable information on the average cost of training primary and secondary teachers.

Teachers: Yorkshire and Humberside

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many full-time equivalent  (a) teachers and  (b) non-teaching assistants there were in local education authority schools in (i) Yorkshire and Humber and (ii) City of York in (A) 1997 and (B) 2006.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of regular teachers, teaching assistants and other support staff in local authority maintained schools in Yorkshire and the Humber Government Office Region and the City of York local authority In January 1997 and 2006.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent regular teachers, teaching assistants and other support staff in local authority maintained schools in Yorkshire and the Humber Government Office Region and the City of York local authority, January 1997 and 2006 
			   Regular teachers( 1)  Teaching assistants( 2,) ( 3)  Support staff( 2, 4)  (excluding teaching assistants) 
			   1997  2006  1997  2006  1997  2006 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 41,900 44,900 7,700 17,330 7,160 14,400 
			 City of York 1,290 1,370 140 500 180 280 
			 (1) Source: DCSF annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies (618g). (2) Source: DGSF School Census.  (3) Teaching assistants include special needs support staff and minority ethnic support staff. (4) Support staff include administrative staff, technicians and other support staff.  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

York College: Finance

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the budget for York College was in  (a) cash and  (b) real terms in each year since 2004-05.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	Investment in further education provision, including that delivered by general further education colleges like York college, has risen nationally by 48 per cent. in real terms between 1997 and 2005.
	My Department does not hold information on publicly funded post-16 places at individual provider level. I am therefore copying this to Mark Haysom, the Learning and Skills Council's Chief Executive, so that he can respond with the detailed information you have requested. A copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.

JUSTICE

Feltham Young Offender Institution and Remand Centre

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2007,  Official Report, column 949W, on Feltham Young Offender Institution and Remand Centre, who was responsible for carrying out the investigation into the so-called Muslim Olympics at the institution; who commissioned the investigation; who heard the disciplinary proceedings; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The then governor of Feltham commissioned the investigation and was in charge of the subsequent disciplinary hearing. The then head of race relations was the investigating officer.

Fixed Penalties: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many fixed penalty notices were issued by Essex Police in  (a) 2003,  (b) 2004,  (c) 2005 and  (d) 2006; how many of those notices have been paid; how many have been sent to be determined in court; and how many have remained unanswered.

David Hanson: The information collected by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform identifies the number of motoring offences fixed penalty notices issued by result at police force area level. Data are collected on the disposal, (i.e. paid, fine registration certificate issued etc.). However because of the time taken for the procedures for payment to be enforced the data are collected approximately nine months later than the period of issue and published in the following years' annual volume covering motoring offences.
	2003 data are provided in Table A. 2004 data will be published in the autumn in the publication "Offences Relating to Motor Vehicles, England and Wales 2005, Supplementary Tables". It is expected that 2005 data will be published in 2008 and 2006 data in 2009.
	The penalty notice for disorder (PND) scheme was rolled out to police forces in England and Wales in 2004 under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. Data on the number of the penalty notices issued, paid, contested in court as well as unpaid PNDs registered as fines, for 2004 and 2005 in Essex, are provided in Table B. In addition, provisional data show that a further 4,357 PNDs were issued in 2006; detailed information on the number paid, contested in court and fine registered will be available this autumn.
	Under the scheme, the police are able to issue penalty notices of either £50 or £80 for a specified range of minor disorder offences. The recipient of a PND has 21 days to either pay the penalty or seek a court hearing. If the recipient takes no action and the notice remains unanswered, a fine of one-and-a-half times the penalty amount is registered against them. The courts are responsible for enforcing PNDs in the same way as any other unpaid fine.
	
		
			  Table A: Fixed penalty notices issued by result in Essex police force area, 2003 
			  Fixed penalty notices  Endorsable  Non-endorsable (driver present)  Non-endorsable (driver absent)  Total 
			  Number of notices 
			 Paid within 28 days 85,041 5,918 6,443 97,402 
			 Payment accepted after 28 days 10,250 941 2,497 13,688 
			 Sub-total paid 95,291 6,859 8,940 111,090 
			  
			 Process issued — — 5 5 
			 No further action taken 34 110 1,171 1,315 
			 Fine registration certificate issued(1) 273 1,818 2,190 4,281 
			 Total 95,598 8,787 12,306 116,691 
			  
			  Percentage of notices 
			 Paid within 28 days 88.96 67.35 52.36 83.47 
			 Payment accepted after 28 days 10.72 10.71 20.29 11.73 
			 Sub-total paid 99.68 78.06 72.65 95.20 
			  
			 Process issued — — 0.04 0.00 
			 No further action taken 0.04 1.25 9.52 1.13 
			 Fine registration certificate issued(1) 0.29 20.69 17.80 3.67 
			 Total 100 100 100 100 
			 (1) Includes outcomes not finalised.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Source: Fixed penalty notices collection held by Office for Criminal Justice Reform. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Number of penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued, paid in full, contested in court and fine registered in Essex police force area, 2004 and 2005( 1) 
			   Number issued  Paid in full  Court hearing requested  Fine registered 
			 2004 2,802 1,681 — 1,054 
			 2005 4.454 2,789 3 1,464 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he will answer the letter to his predecessor transferred from the Home Office and dated 29 May, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Paul Southworth.

David Hanson: The Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor replied to the right hon. Member on 26 July.

Police Cautions: Yorkshire and Humberside

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many cautions were given to those under 16 in  (a) Leeds and  (b) West Yorkshire in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many cautions were issued in West Yorkshire in each of the last five years; for what categories of offences cautions were issued; and whether cautions may be repeated for the same offence.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 23 July 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	The number of persons aged 10 to 15 cautioned for all offences in West Yorkshire police force area for the years 2001 to 2005, along with the number of defendants of all ages cautioned by offence type in West Yorkshire police force area, and the number of defendants of all ages cautioned for sexual offences in England and Wales for the years 2001 to 2005 can be viewed in the following tables. This information is from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
	Information on cautions collected by the police is only reported to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform broken down at force area level, not by police division, so it is not possible to separately identify the number of cautions in Leeds from our data.
	Technically an offender could receive a second caution for a similar offence but it should be in very extenuating circumstances. The Home Office Circular discourages repeat use of the same penalty with the same offender. Someone who offends again needs to know that the next response will be a tougher one. And where a serious offence is committed, then the case should go to court.
	Therefore both national and locally held records must be checked before a caution is given. If the suspect has previously received a caution then a further caution should not normally be considered. If there has been a sufficient lapse of time to suggest that a previous caution has had a "significant deterrent effect" then a caution can be administered, but it is at the discretion of the police and CPS. The lapse of time varies, in practice, between forces.
	
		
			  Number  of defendants aged 10 to 15 cautioned for all offences by West Yorkshire police for the years 2001 to 2005( 1,2) 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  West Yorkshire police force area  
			 Age 10-15 3,099 3,158 3,116 4,140 5,149 
			 (1 )These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Our ref:PQ151448  Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number  of defendants of all ages cautioned by offence type in West Yorkshire police force area and the number of defendants of all ages cautioned for sexual offences in England and Wales for the years 2001 to 2005( 1,2) 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  West Yorkshire  
			 Violence against the person 1,109 1,670 2,493 4,277 6,038 
			 Burglary 401 390 346 485 563 
			 Robbery 37 37 29 41 49 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 2,688 2,423 2,538 3,138 3,635 
			 Fraud and forgery 208 210 189 279 332 
			 Criminal damage 52 76 83 101 149 
			 Drug offences 934 1,271 1,294 1,457 1,674 
			 Other indictable offences 139 165 323 362 520 
			 Summary offences (excluding motoring) 3,474 3,787 3,951 4,743 4,859 
			 Sexual offences 29 44 31 76 85 
			   
			  England and Wales  
			 Sexual offences 1,240 1,203 1,359 1,553 1,761 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Our ref: PQ 151284 and 151285.  Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Adult Education: Expenditure

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much has been spent from the public purse on adult education in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: The figures requested are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Adult participation funding excluding learner support expenditure 
			  £ millions 
			   Financial years 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 19+ Further Education 1,692 1,695 1,882 1,902 2,011 
			 Train to Gain/Employer Training Pilot n/a 7 33 89 142 
			 19+ Workbased Learning 154 211 213 243 232 
			 Personal and Community Development Learning (PCDL) 153 194 225 237 229 
			 Adults Total 1,999 2,107 2,353 2,471 2,614

Adult Education: Liverpool

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the level of funding for non-priority adult education in Liverpool over the past two years;
	(2)  what procedure he has put in place to enable him to assess the adequacy of the Learning and Skills Council's allocation of funds for non-priority adult education in Liverpool.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 19 July 2007
	We have increased public investment in further education by 48 per cent. in real terms between 1997-98 and 2005-06 and funding for adult education has increased by 7 per cent. between 2005-06 and 2007-08.
	In October 2005 the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) published "Priorities for Success" which set out our funding strategy for 2006-07 and 2007-08 and was updated in October 2006 with the publication of the LSC's Annual Statement of Priorities. The strategy set out our funding priorities and in line with our Skills Strategy focused public funding on helping adults to develop the skills they will need for sustained employment and further progression in learning.
	The LSC has worked with providers across the country including in Liverpool to align provision to meet these priorities. Where providers have previously delivered large volumes of short courses and other lower priority activity then this has resulted in significant shifts of funding towards more substantive programmes that meet national priorities. In these circumstances the LSC have looked at the extent to which provision can be aligned in a single year taking into account historical levels of delivery and the needs of the local community.
	In terms of provision outside of these priorities we have safeguarded £210 million for personal and community development learning, including leisure learning in both 2006-07 and 2007-08. We also recognise the need to ensure that we have sufficient provision at lower levels to support progression through to higher level qualifications and we will be supporting this activity through the Foundation Learning Tier.

Adult Education: Qualifications

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people have passed qualifications on adult education courses in each of the last five years; and to what level.

Bill Rammell: The numbers of successes and success rates by level for adult Further Education and Work Based Learning are shown in the following tables. Similar information is not centrally collated for the other strands of adult education.
	
		
			  Successes and success rates in LSC funded FE provision for adults (19+) 
			  Qualification type  Successes (thousands) 2004/05  Success rates (percentage) 
			   2001/02  2001/02  2002/03  2003/04  2005/06  2001/02  2001/02  2002/03  2003/04  2005/06 
			 Long(1) courses   
			 Level 1 296 401 399 378 331 50 59 59 61 64 
			 Level 2 258 261 262 280 288 49 54 54 60 65 
			 Full Level 2 learning aims n/a 64 65 83 99 n/a 54 55 60 66 
			 Not full level 2 learning aims n/a 197 197 198 188 n/a 54 54 60 65 
			 Level 3 185 170 173 176 178 50 53 54 58 63 
			 Level 4, 5 and HE 11 13 7 10 12 38 47 59 59 62 
			 Level not specified 192 66 72 79 66 62 68 63 72 76 
			 All Long(1) courses 948 917 913 923 875 52 57 57 61 65 
			 All Short(2) courses 1,832 2,124 2,131 2,116 1,637 75 82 82 83 85 
			 All Qualifications 2,773 3,023 3,044 3,040 2,513 65 72 72 75 77 
			 (1) Long courses are of expected length of 24 weeks or more (2) Short courses are of expected length of less than 24 weeks 
		
	
	
		
			  Successes and success rates in LSC work based learning provision for adults (19+) 
			   Successes( 1)  (thousands)  Current success rates (percentage) 
			 Programme type  2001/02  2001/02  2002/03  2003/04  2005/06  2001/02  2001/02  2002/03  2003/04  2005/06 
			 Advanced Apprentice-ships (Level 3) 10 12 12 13 17 31 39 44 50 60 
			 Apprentice-ships at level 2 10 14 17 24 28 31 35 42 52 59 
			 All frameworks or NVQs(2) 25 35 39 44 49 33 40 46 53 60 
			 (1) Successfully completing framework or NVQ component or both. (2) Includes NVQ training not separately identified above.

Adult Learning Grant

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when the full guidance for the administration of the adult learning grant will be issued.

David Lammy: The Adult Learning Grant (ALG) provides income assessed support of up to £30 per week to adults studying full time for their first full Level 2 or first full Level 3 qualification. Following a successful pilot period during which ALG has been shown to improve retention and success rates among learners it is being introduced across England from September 2007. The scheme is administered by a single helpline, Assessment and Payment body, with further education colleges providing voluntary support to applicants. Outline guidance was distributed to all colleges in June. Full, detailed administrative guidance will be published in early August 2007.

Apprentices

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of trainees  (a) in total and  (b) in each sector progressed from an apprenticeship at level 2 to an advanced apprenticeship in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Lammy: Data relating to progression for apprenticeship to advanced apprenticeship is not currently available in a comprehensive manner because of the lack of unique learner identifiers in the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) individualised learner record (ILR) data prior to 2007/08. The unique learner number (ULN) will enable the linking of two mutually exclusive records and episodes of learning to estimate the volume of learners progressing to advanced apprenticeship. The ULN is expected to be rolled out to all provision from January 2008, with a plan to compel use by LSC funded provision from September 2008. It will then take some years to work through the system before the ULN can be used to comprehensively monitor the progress of learners across provision, where there has been a break in the training.

Assessments: Prisoners

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he plans to take in conjunction with the Prison Service to resolve security and other access issues so that serving prisoners may take vocational examinations which are available solely on-line.

David Lammy: The 'Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment: Next Steps', published jointly by the former department for education and skills, the Home Office and the department for Work and Pensions in December 2006 gave a clear commitment to improve the use of technology in delivering learning to offenders in custody, as well as offering more widespread access to ICT qualifications.
	DIUS are working closely with NOMS on an initiative to deliver resettlement services electronically to offenders. The Programme for Offender Learning and Resettlement Information Services (POLARIS) is being trialled in selected London prisons to develop a secure means of offering prisoners access to e-learning, including on-line examinations, and other resettlement services.

Degrees: Ethnic Groups

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of students from  (a) Asian Bangladeshi,  (b) Asian Chinese,  (c) Asian Indian,  (d) Asian Pakistani,  (e) other Asian,  (f) Black African,  (g) Black Caribbean,  (h) Other Black,  (i) White and  (j) other ethnic backgrounds (i) applied and (ii) were accepted for (A) full-time and (b) part-time first undergraduate honours degrees in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of students from  (a) Asian Bangladeshi,  (b) Asian Chinese,  (c) Asian Indian,  (d) Asian Pakistani,  (e) other Asian,  (f) Black African,  (g) Black Caribbean,  (h) Other Black,  (i) White and  (j) other ethnic backgrounds (i) applied and (ii) were accepted for (A) foundation degrees, (B) undergraduate honours degrees and (C) HNDs in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: The available information is shown in the tables. The figures are taken from data collected by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) which are limited to students who apply to full-time undergraduate courses via the UCAS application system. The figures do not therefore cover part-time students, nor those full-time students who apply directly to Higher Education Institutions.
	UCAS do not allocate applicants to specific course types because students can submit up to six applications to one or more of First Degree, Foundation Degree, HMD or other courses. For acceptances, the figures for Degrees include both first degrees and foundation degrees.
	A new classification of ethnic group was introduced in 2001 which allowed those students of mixed ethnicity to be classified in more detail. Figures for 2000 and earlier are therefore not strictly comparable with those for 2001 and later years.
	
		
			  UK Domiciled Applicants by Ethnic Group, UK Higher Education Institutions, Year of Entry 1997 to 2006 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000 
			  Ethnic Group  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Asian Bangladeshi 2,461 0.7 2,574 0.7 2,854 0.8 3,013 0.8 
			 Asian Chinese 3,477 0.9 3,353 0.9 3,570 1.0 3,594 1.0 
			 Asian Indian 15,317 4.1 15,910 4.4 16,590 4.6 17,024 4.7 
			 Asian Pakistani 9,124 2.4 9,482 2.6 9,944 2.8 10,223 2.8 
			 Other Asian 4,581 1.2 4,553 1.3 4,606 1.3 4,699 1.3 
			 Black African 7,687 2.1 7,061 2.0 7,091 2.0 7,517 2.1 
			 Black Caribbean 4,832 1.3 4,547 1.3 4,540 1.3 4,370 1.2 
			 Other Black 2,296 0.6 2,431 0.7 2,517 0.7 2,724 0.8 
			 White 315,137 84.4 300,927 83.8 299,620 83.2 298,395 82.7 
			 Other ethnic backgrounds 6,367 1.7 6,346 1.8 6,749 1.9 7,171 2.0 
			 Total with known ethnic backgrounds 373,276 100.0 359,182 100.0 360,080 100.0 360,730 100.0 
			 Unknown 27,048 — 32,404 — 30,610 — 30,361 — 
			 Total including unknown 398,327 — 389,588 — 388,691 — 389,091 — 
		
	
	
		
			   2001  2002  2003 
			  Ethnic Group  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Asian Bangladeshi 3,278 0.9 3,074 0.8 3,272 0.9 
			 Asian Chinese 3,783 1.0 3,754 1.0 3,799 1.1 
			 Asian Indian 17,234 4.7 16,309 4.4 16,402 4.6 
			 Asian Pakistani 11,040 3.0 10,202 2.8 10,735 3.0 
			 Other Asian 4,450 1.2 4,544 1.2 4,706 1.3 
			 Black African 8,546 2.3 8,992 2.4 10,856 3.0 
			 Black Caribbean 4,823 1.3 4,676 1.3 4,926 1.4 
			 Other Black 1,072 0.3 1,060 0.3 1,237 0.3 
			 White 302,636 82.6 304,366 82.9 290,769 81.2 
			 Other ethnic backgrounds(1) 9,729 2.7 10,159 2.8 11,241 3.1 
			 Total with known ethnic backgrounds 366,591 100.0 367,136 100.0 357,943 100.0 
			 Unknown 33,054 — 34,718 — 31,179 — 
			 Total including unknown 399,645 — 401,854 — 409,968 — 
		
	
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006 
			  Ethnic Group  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Asian Bangladeshi 3,538 0.9 3,684 0.9 3,964 1.0 
			 Asian Chinese 4,069 1.1 4,029 1.0 3,935 1.0 
			 Asian Indian 16,471 4.3 17,110 4.1 16,977 4.1 
			 Asian Pakistani 11,066 2.9 11,661 2.8 11,705 2.9 
			 Other Asian 4,591 1.2 5,339 1.3 5,289 1.3 
			 Black African 12,206 3.2 15,572 3.7 16,120 3.9 
			 Black Caribbean 5,194 1.3 5,984 1.4 6,321 1.5 
			 Other Black 1,251 0.3 1,564 0.4 1,536 0.4 
			 White 314,251 81.5 339,781 80.7 328,013 79.9 
			 Other ethnic backgrounds(1) 12,920 3.4 16,263 3.9 16,503 4.0 
			 Total with known ethnic backgrounds 385,557 100.0 420,987 100.0 410,363 100.0 
			 Unknown 27,777 — 23,643 — 21,833 — 
			 Total including unknown 413,334 — 444,630 — 432,196 — 
			 (1) Other ethnic backgrounds includes mixed white/Asian, white/black African, white/black Carribean and other mixed backgrounds.  Note: Percentages are in terms of the number of students with known ethnic backgrounds. 
		
	
	
		
			  UK Domiciled Acceptances by Ethnic Group and Qualification Aim, UK Higher Education Institutions, Year of Entry 1997 to 2006 
			   1997  1998 
			   Degree  HN D  Degree  HND 
			  Ethnic  Group  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Asian Bangladeshi 1,527 0.6 222 0.9 1,627 0.6 181 0.8 
			 Asian Chinese 2,444 0.9 288 1.2 2,448 1.0 245 1.1 
			 Asian Indian 10,154 3.9 1,506 6.3 10,669 4.2 1,431 6.4 
			 Asian Pakistani 5,487 2.1 865 3.6 5,745 2.3 853 3.8 
			 Other Asian 3,055 1.2 288 1 .2 3,049 1.2 244 1.1 
			 Black African 4,249 1.6 538 2.3 3,962 1.6 542 2.4 
			 Black Caribbean 2,745 1.1 437 1.8 2,580 1.0 368 1.7 
			 Other Black 1,338 0.5 188 0.8 1,437 0.6 205 0.9 
			 White 224,448 86.4 19,140 80.1 216,882 85.9 17,746 79.9 
			 Other ethnic backgrounds 4,213 1.6 416 1.7 4,213 1.7 397 1.8 
			 Total with known ethnic backgrounds 259,660 100.0 23,888 100.0 252,612 100.0 22,212 100.0 
			 Unknown 16,843 — 2,927 — 19,728 — 3,668 — 
			 Total including unknown 276,503 — 26,815 — 272,340 — 25,880 — 
		
	
	
		
			   1999  2000 
			   Degree  HND  Degree  HND 
			  Ethnic Group  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Asian Bangladeshi 1,817 0.7 232 1.0 2,051 0.8 239 1.0 
			 Asian Chinese 2,618 1.0 258 1.2 2,746 1.0 253 1.1 
			 Asian Indian 11,446 4.4 1,521 6.9 12,253 4.7 1,416 6.2 
			 Asian Pakistani 6,030 2.3 1,042 4.7 6,486 2.5 976 4.3 
			 Other Asian 3,137 1.2 262 1.2 3,453 1.3 246 1.1 
			 Black African 4,201 1.6 519 2.3 4,604 1.8 489 2.1 
			 Black Caribbean 2,605 1.0 400 1.8 2,609 1.0 416 1.8 
			 Other Black 1,545 0.6 204 0.9 1,697 0.6 225 1.0 
			 White 219,922 85.3 17,284 78.1 222,046 84.4 18,080 79.2 
			 Other ethnic backgrounds 4,602 1.8 420 1.9 5,112 1.9 489 2.1 
			 Total with known ethnic backgrounds 257,923 100.0 22,142 100.0 263,057 100.0 22,829 100.0 
			 Unknown 19,417 — 3,583 — 18,752 — 4,080 — 
			 Total including unknown 277,340 — 25,725 — 281,809 — 26,909 — 
		
	
	
		
			   2001  2002 
			   Degree  HND  Degree  HND 
			  Ethnic Group  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Asian Bangladeshi 2,148 0.8 295 1.3 2,239 0.8 217 1.2 
			 Asian Chinese 2,935 1.1 250 1.1 3,002 1.1 192 1.1 
			 Asian Indian 13,030 4.7 1,417 6.2 12,812 4.5 1,000 5.6 
			 Asian Pakistani 7,424 2.7 1,057 4.6 7,259 2.5 798 4.4 
			 Other Asian 3,283 1.2 235 1.0 3,462 1.2 159 0.9 
			 Black African 5,494 2.0 518 2.3 5,940 2.1 465 2.6 
			 Black Caribbean 3,058 1.1 433 1.9 3,141 1.1 350 1.9 
			 Other Black 686 0.2 84 0.4 735 0.3 68 0.4 
			 White 231,370 83.6 18,052 78.9 238,351 83.7 14,312 79.6 
			 Other ethnic backgrounds(1) 7,182 2.6 533 2.3 7,793 2.7 422 2.3 
			 Total with known ethnic backgrounds 276,610 100.0 22,874 100.0 284,734 100.0 17,983 100.0 
			 Unknown 21,447 — 4,541 — 24,726 — 4,282 — 
			 Total including unknown 298,057 — 27,415 — 309,460 — 22,265 — 
		
	
	
		
			   2003  2004 
			   Degree  HND  Degree  HND 
			  Ethnic Group  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Asian Bangladeshi 2,381 0.8 167 1.1 2,681 0.9 124 1.1 
			 Asian Chinese 3,067 1.0 132 0.9 3,311 1.1 106 0.9 
			 Asian Indian 13,178 4.5 785 5.4 13,147 4.4 555 4.8 
			 Asian Pakistani 7,618 2.6 713 4.9 7,999 2.7 513 4.5 
			 Other Asian 3,491 1.2 151 1.0 3,427 1.1 105 0.9 
			 Black African 7,305 2.5 467 3.2 8,076 2.7 355 3.1 
			 Black Caribbean 3,379 1.1 285 1.9 3,584 1.2 208 1.8 
			 Other Black 883 0.3 53 0.4 843 0.3 54 0.5 
			 White 244,302 83.1 11,452 78.3 247,992 82.4 9,147 79.6 
			 Other ethnic backgrounds(1) 8,509 2.9 426 2.9 9,878 3.3 320 2.8 
			 Total with known ethnic backgrounds 294,113 100.0 14,631 100.0 300,938 100.0 11,487 100.0 
			 Unknown 22,129 — 3,069 — 19,599 — 2,271 — 
			 Total including unknown 316,242 — 17,700 — 320,537 — 13,758 — 
		
	
	
		
			   2005  2006 
			   Degree  HND  Degree  HND 
			  Ethnic Group  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Asian Bangladeshi 2,774 0.8 117 1.2 3,058 1.0 89 1.2 
			 Asian Chinese 3,311 1.0 78 0.8 3,257 1.0 54 0.7 
			 Asian Indian 13,781 4.2 492 4.9 13,688 4.3 378 5.2 
			 Asian Pakistani 8,458 2.6 455 4.6 8,635 2.7 377 5.2 
			 Other Asian 3,995 1.2 87 0.9 3,929 1.2 86 1.2 
			 Black African 10,114 3.1 382 3.8 10,673 3.4 300 4.2 
			 Black Caribbean 4,233 1.3 220 2.2 4,571 1.4 154 2.1 
			 Other Black 1,064 0.3 52 0.5 1,071 0.3 39 0.5 
			 White 271,394 81.8 7,724 77.4 257,059 80.7 5,448 75.6 
			 Other ethnic backgrounds(1) 12,476 3.8 371 3.7 12,546 3.9 280 3.9 
			 Total with known ethnic backgrounds 331,600 100.0 9,978 100.0 318,487 100.0 7,205 100.0 
			 Unknown 17,248 — 1,418 — 18,451 — 1,421 — 
			 Total including unknown 348,848 — 11,396 — 336,938 — 8,626 — 
			 (1) Other ethnic backgrounds includes mixed white/Asian, white/black African, white/black Carribean and other mixed backgrounds.  Note: Percentages are in terms of the number of students with known ethnic backgrounds.

Departments: Discrimination

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will make a statement on his policy on positive discrimination.

Ian Pearson: The Department believes that mainstreaming diversity into its talent and performance management policies is the most effective form of positive action. Over the past five years, the Department has developed two internal development schemes of positive action. Positive discrimination is unlawful and is not departmental policy.

Departments: Early Retirement

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many of his staff took early retirement in the last five years; at what cost; what grades of staff took early retirement; and what percentage of each grade took early retirement.

David Lammy: The information is not available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	In the former DFES, there have been voluntary early severance and retirement releases. For the 2002-03 financial year to the end of the 2006-07 financial year, the total number and cost for such releases from the former DFES were as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of early releases (from former DFES)  Total cost (to former DFES) (£ million) 
			 2002-03 57 5.57 
			 2003-04 28 2.54 
			 2004-05 332 17.1 
			 2005-06 204 15.1 
			 2006-07 156 10.55

Departments: Flint Bishop

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies has made payments to Flint Bishop solicitors since its establishment.

David Lammy: I can confirm that the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and its predecessor, the Department for Education and Skills have no record of any payments to Flint Bishop solicitors during the last seven years. The Department does not hold data prior to financial year 1999-2000.
	The Department does not have any Executive agencies.

Departments: Legislation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which Bills in policy areas for which his Department is responsible introduced in the last five years contained sunset clauses; and what plans he has for the future use of such clauses.

David Lammy: In policy areas for which the Department is responsible, there have been no Bills introduced in the last five years which have contained sunset clauses. The appropriateness of a sunset clause for the whole or part of any proposed legislation is considered on a case by case basis. It is also addressed when a regulatory impact assessment relating to legislation is being prepared.

Departments: Legislation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which Bills introduced by his Department and its predecessors in areas within his Department's responsibility in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The following Bills introduced by the Department and its predecessors in areas within the Department's responsibility in the last five years have not contained sunset clauses:
	The Higher Education Act 2004
	The Patents Act 2004
	The Further Education and Training Bill

Departments: Manpower

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many employees in his Department were employed by  (a) the Department for Education and Skills and  (b) another Department prior to 27 June 2007.

David Lammy: The information is as follows.
	 (a) 560 employees were employed by the DFES and
	 (b) 1,294 by an other Department prior to 27 June 2007.

Departments: Private Finance Initiative

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the total cost is of all private finance initiative projects for which his Department has responsibility completed since 1997; and what the projected cost is of such projects commissioned or underway.

David Lammy: Information on all signed private finance initiative contracts, including balance sheet treatment and future unitary charges, is included in HM Treasury's PFI Signed Projects List, which is available through
	www.hm.treasury.gov.uk/documents/public_private_partnerships/ppp_pfi_stats.
	The information covers the unitary charge payment projections up to 2033-34. (A unitary charge can frequently include capital repayments, service provision, inflation and major refurbishment).
	This is a working document containing information on current signed PFI projects. It is updated on a six-monthly basis to reflect the updates HM Treasury receives from Departments at Budget and pre-Budget report.
	An announcement will be made in the autumn on the amount of PFI credits likely to be available in the comprehensive review period from 2008 to 2011.

Departments: Recruitment

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department paid in fees to recruitment agencies for  (a) temporary and  (b) permanent staff in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: In 2004-05, the cost of fees to recruitment agencies for temporary staff was £2,485,158. In 2005-06, the cost was £2,585,392 and in 2006-07, it was £2,076,348. The cost of temporary staff via recruitment agencies for 2007 to date is £2,210,740.
	Information for fees paid in other financial years from 1997 through to 2004 for temporary staff and in each year since 1997 for permanent staff is not collected in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Redundancy Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much was spent by his Department on redundancy payments in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: There have been no compulsory redundancies in the period.

Departments: Taxis

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much was spent by his Department on taxis in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: Details of expenditure on taxis incurred by the Department over the last financial year are set out as follows:
	2006-07: £268,857.79
	The expenditure is based on staff travel claims and approved invoices received from taxi companies paid via the Department's Integrated Financial Information System.
	This figure does not include expenditure for taxi fares incurred abroad or claims by staff that do not have access to the on-line system. To extract this information would involve disproportionate cost.
	The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was established under Machinery of Government changes on 28 June 2007. This response only related to those areas of responsibility held by its predecessor the Department for Education and Skills.

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much was spent by his Department on  (a) staff and  (b) communication training in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: Costs for staff and communication training for the former DFES are available from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007 in the following table:
	
		
			  Budget  Cost (£) 
			 Communications training 49,204 
			 Learning and Development 2,259,991

Departments: Travel

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much was spent by his Department on first class train tickets in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: The spend from departmental officials for travel within the UK on first class rail tickets for the 12 month period July 2006 to June 2007 for the former Department for Education and Skills was £3,923,948.

Departments: Travel

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much was spent by his Department on  (a) first class and  (b) business flights in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: The spend form departmental officials on  (a) business class flights in the 12 month period July 2006 to June 2007 for the former Department for Education and Skills was £295,593 and  (b) first class flights in the 12 month period July 2006 to June 2007 for the former Department for Education and Skills was £13,146.
	The annual list of Cabinet Ministers overseas travel for 2006/07 was published on 25 July 2007.

Further Education: Curriculum

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent representations he has received on the post 16 curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: I have not received any representations on this subject. There is no statutory post 16 curriculum. Individual colleges work with partner agencies including local authorities, the LSC, their learners and employers to deliver a curriculum which meets the needs of the community they serve.

Further Education: Mature Students

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what plans he has to give new responsibilities to  (a) the Higher Education Funding Council for England,  (b) the regional development agencies and  (c) sector skills councils in the provision of further education for people aged over 19 years; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We set out in "World Class Skills: Implementing the Leitch Review of Skills in England" our plans to consider how best to deliver the functions and services that support the further education system, building on the progress made with the Learning and Skills Council over recent years in developing a demand-led approach. In taking forward these changes, the Government will work closely with key stakeholders, including the LSC, HEFCE, RDAs and Sector Skills Councils, to ensure any necessary new arrangements are introduced with minimal impact to learners, employers and providers. We will announce in due course proposals for how we will review the funding and accountability framework to best support initiative and high performance.
	As regards the brokerage service offered as part of the Train to Gain programme, the Sub-National Review published on 17 July made clear the Government's view that a single brokerage service is the simplest way for business to access government support. However, the Government are currently consulting on business support simplification. The conclusions of this consultation will be available to the Government by the time of the Comprehensive Spending Review, allowing the Government to give effect to any changes on the provision of brokerage services by April 2009.

Graduates: Debts

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the average amount of time needed for a university graduate to repay debts incurred during study.

Bill Rammell: We estimate that a student who entered higher education in 2006/07 will take an average of 13 years to repay their student loan. This period is counted from the statutory repayment due date, which is the April following the year of graduation.

Hertfordshire University: Finance

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what additional funding  (a) Hertfordshire University has received from his Department and  (b) his Department intends to provide to Hertfordshire University as a business facing university.

Bill Rammell: The Department provides no direct funding to the institution, and information is not held centrally on whether the university has used its grant funding from HEFCE, or funding from other sources, to support its shift towards becoming overtly 'business-facing'.
	However, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has provided project funding for the University of Hertfordshire to develop its employer engagement activities. The university received £2.93 million under the third round of the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) to support engagement with a range of knowledge transfer activities with business, public sector and community partners, for direct or indirect economic benefit. It received Strategic Development Fund money to: take forward its employer engagement strategy through projects aiming to secure an effective and sustainable relationship with a substantial pool of employers and enable it to address the skill needs of employers, students and its graduates (£2.2 million); re-engineer the institution to meet the needs of small and medium-sized employers (£2.0 million).

Higher Education

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of  (a) male and  (b) female students in socio-economic groups (i) one, (ii) two, (iii) three, (iv) four, (v) five, (vi) six and (vii) seven studying (A) physics, (B) chemistry, (C) biochemistry, (D) a European modern language, (E) a non-European modern language and (F) all subjects at (x) Russell Group, (y) non-Russell Group universities and (z) departments awarded 5 or 5* in the last research assessment exercise in each of the last 10 years.

Bill Rammell: Information on the number of students who were awarded 5 or 5* in the RAE exercise are not held by the Department.

Higher Education: Admissions

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people from  (a) Cornwall,  (b) the south west and  (c) England applied to a higher education establishment in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is shown in the table. The figures are taken from data collected by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) which are limited to students who apply to full-time undergraduate courses via the UCAS application system. The figures do not therefore cover part-time students, nor those full-time students who apply directly to higher education institutions.
	Details of applicants by local authority are not held by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), therefore applicants from Cornwall are not available.
	
		
			  Number of applicants from the south west and England UK higher education institutions: year of entry 1997 to 2006 
			  Year of entry  Number of applicants from 
			   South West  England( 1) 
			 1997 33,081 329,413 
			 1998 32,190 322,579 
			 1999 31,716 323,141 
			 2000 32,286 321,343 
			 2001 33,004 330,856 
			 2002 33,340 331,350 
			 2003 33,198 337,187 
			 2004 34,081 339,600 
			 2005 37,351 367,741 
			 2006 34,743 357,431 
			 (1) Includes applicants from the south west.  Source:  Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) 
		
	
	The latest figures released by UCAS show that by 30 June, the number of students applying to enter higher education in 2007 was up by 6.3 per cent. on the same point in 2006, and was also up on the bumper year of 2005. This means that applicants are the highest ever at this point in the application cycle.

Higher Education: Adult Education

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will make a statement on the role and contribution of the adult residential colleges designated under section 28 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 25 July 2007
	The adult residential colleges designated under section 28 of the further and Higher Education Act 1992 are a small, distinct group of colleges which were brought into the further education (FE) sector in 1993 in order to be eligible to receive public funding alongside other further education colleges.
	The role of these colleges, which are all registered charities, differs according to their historical background but all focus primarily on helping adults who currently have either no or few qualifications often due to financial, personal or social barriers experienced in the past and who are seeking a return to learning. The residential facilities provide a network for personal and learning support encouraged through events and activities outside the formal timetable.
	Courses range widely from those designated to develop personal skills and the basic skills necessary for employability to those resulting in formal academic and vocational qualifications. Some colleges also offer higher education courses or help prepare students for progression to university.

Higher Education: Adult Education

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the terms of reference are of the Learning and Skills Council's review of the adult residential colleges; and when he expects the review to report.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 25 July 2007
	The Learning and Skills Council has commissioned work from RCU Market Research Unit which will comprise a wide ranging review of the four adult residential colleges (Hillcroft, Fircroft, Ruskin and Northern) in England. The review is underway and is looking at the following areas:
	the curriculum offer, student profile and achievements, mission and ethos of the colleges;
	value for money;
	the residential bursary scheme, managed by Ruskin college on behalf of the four colleges;
	the profile of the teaching and other staff in the four colleges;
	other resources of funding that the four colleges receive;
	the socio-economic benefits of the four colleges;
	the Capital and disability Discrimination Act support the colleges receive.
	The final report from the review is due in October 2007. It is not intended for publication as it will contain commercially sensitive data from which the individual colleges could be identified. The report will be used as intended by the LSC and the colleges to take work forward and review future funding and other arrangements for this provision.

Higher Education: Business

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which universities make their core mission business facing.

Bill Rammell: In 'World Class Skills: Implementing the Leitch Review of Skills in England' we have said that 'business-facing' should be a description with which any higher education institution feels comfortable. An increasing number of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) already seem comfortable being recognised as responsive to the needs of employers and their workforces, in ways that are consistent with their mission.
	A group of five universities are being supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) as 'third stream as second mission' institutions (Brighton, Central England in Birmingham, DeMontfort, Sheffield Hallam, and Hertfordshire Universities) and these are exploring how such institutions can address issues relating to the country's productivity and competitiveness, in addition to pursuing their widely-recognised teaching activity.
	Beyond this, currently a further seven HEIs are funded under HEFCE's 'employer engagement pilots' initiative and exploring links with work force development. The Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF)—£238 million for 2006/07—is an important source of support for all HEIs, helping the sector to engage in a broad range of knowledge transfer activities with business, public sector and community partners, for direct or indirect economic benefit.
	HEFCE's latest annual HE Business Community Interaction survey illustrates the wide range of HEIs forging links with business and the community (including via the Skills for Business Network) and raising income from various activities, such as business-funded research, consultancy contracts and continuing professional development courses.

Higher Education: Business

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1407W, on higher education: business, which universities have expressed an intention to make their core mission business facing.

Bill Rammell: Individual higher education institutions (HEIs) will decide whether they should best be described as 'business-facing', and in which contexts. However, several have undertaken action that should make them more clearly 'business-facing'. The university of Hertfordshire is one that has recently done so. Government wishes to see many more institutions becoming comfortable with this term, or alternative ones, that accurately describe their significant level of collaboration with business and their wider communities and the value that they and their partners perceive in such links.
	A group of five universities are being supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) as 'third stream as second mission' institutions (Brighton, Central England in Birmingham, DeMontfort, Sheffield Hallam, and Hertfordshire universities) and these are exploring how such institutions can address issues relating to the country's productivity and competitiveness, in addition to pursuing their widely-recognised teaching missions.

Higher Education: Business

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much additional funding his Department has provided to support business facing universities in each of the last three years; and how much such funding his Department will be providing in each of the next three years.

Bill Rammell: The Department has a policy of encouraging universities to increase their interaction with business. The Higher Education Innovation Fund, which provides funding to all Higher Education Institutions in England, is a key incentive. The funding for this programme has increased from £187 million for the two academic years 2004/05-2005/06 to £238 million for 2006/07-2007/08. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has allocated £60 million of its research funding (QR) in 2007/08 by reference to research grants and contracts from business. And HEFCE fund a range of projects that respond to, and increase, employer demand for workforce development. Future funding allocations will be announced at the appropriate time.

Higher Education: Business

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether his Department intends to take measures to recognise achievement by leading business facing universities.

Bill Rammell: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and officials will continue to monitor the levels of interaction between higher education institutions (HEIs) and employers as indicated by HEFCE's annual 'HE: Business and Community Interaction' survey of HEIs (HE-BCIS).
	What is important is that HEIs recognise the value of, scope for, and ways to establish, more and better ways to collaborate with this wider community for their mutual benefit.
	Although many HEIs are playing a significant role in fostering productivity and economic growth, through activities as diverse as contracted research for businesses and the provision of continuing professional development (CPD) courses, numerous ones are in receipt of specific funds from HEFCE to support projects, which in itself gives some recognition of progress and achievements in this area.
	This funding includes £238 million for the third round of the Higher Education Innovation Fund. One portion of this was allocated by competition to large-scale collaborative initiatives including partners from business and community organisations and another recognised the extent of HEIs' existing business interactions as indicated by the HE-BCIS survey.
	HEFCE supports a range of project activity exploring ways to grow and respond to employer demand for HE-level skills within their work forces, notably three regional 'Higher level Skills Pathfinders' and, currently, eight single-institution 'employer engagement pilot' projects. There are also five 'third stream' HEI projects to demonstrate the potential economic benefits of such a focus by institutions.
	The council also funds 74 Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs) that recognise and reward excellent teaching practice, and several involve HEIs, or substantial parts of them, working closely with business in areas such as work-based learning.

Higher Education: Great Yarmouth

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students in Great Yarmouth went on to higher education in each of the last 10 years.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is shown in the table. Figures for 2006/07 will be available in January 2008.
	
		
			  Entrants( 1, 2)  to undergraduate courses from Great Yarmouth parliamentary constituency, UK Higher Education Institutions( 3) , academic years 1996/97 to 2005/06 
			  Academic year  Number 
			 1996/97 340 
			 1997/98 340 
			 1998/99 390 
			 1999/2000 405 
			 2000/01 415 
			 2001/02 550 
			 2002/03 445 
			 2003/04 530 
			 2004/05 515 
			 2005/06 555 
			 (1) Covers students on full-time and part-time modes of study. (2) Position at 1 December each year. (3) Excludes The Open University.  Source:  Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), all figures are rounded to the nearest five. 
		
	
	The figures are based on students enrolled at 1 December in each year because these are the only figures available on a comparable basis in each year since 1997.

Higher Education: Manpower

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many members of staff were employed by  (a) the Higher Education Funding Council for England,  (b) the Learning and Skills Council and  (c) each sector skill council in each of the last 10 years; and what the expenditure on salaries was by each organisation in each year.

Bill Rammell: The information requested is provided in the following tables:
	
		
			  Higher education funding council for England 
			  Financial year  Number of staff as full-time equivalent  Salary costs( 1)  (£000) 
			 1997-98 194 4,828 
			 1998-99 180 4,878 
			 1999-2000 201 6,049 
			 2000-01 240 6,898 
			 2001-02 245 7,301 
			 2002-03 240 7,749 
			 2003-04 254 8,863 
			 2004-05 264 9,388 
			 2005-06 242 10,367 
			 2006-07 240 10,861 
			 (1) Includes salary costs, national insurance payments and pensions payments.  Source: HEFCE Annual Accounts 
		
	
	
		
			  Learning and skills council 
			  Year ended 31 March  Total staff  Admin pay (£000) 
			 2002 4,694 144,245 
			 2003 4,797 135,291 
			 2004 4,786 141,291 
			 2005 4,306 140,344 
			 2006 4,451 137,857 
			 2007(1) 3,741 133,067 
			 (1) Provisional figures.  Note: Admin pay covers salaries, social security payments, pension costs and consultancy costs.  Source: LSC Annual report and Accounts 
		
	
	The Learning and Skills Council became operational in April 2001. The figures provided are for the average number of staff employed by the LSC each year and include temporary staff and agency staff. The reduction in the average number of staff in post between 2006 and 2007 is a consequence of the announcement in September 2005 by Mark Haysom, the Learning and Skills Council's chief executive, of proposals for a new structure for the organisation. This process is expected to result in a reduction in the LSC's overall establishment figure (that is the number of posts required to run the organisation) from around 4,700 to around 3,630—a reduction of almost 1.100 posts. This will achieve estimated savings of up to £40 million, which could be released to the front line for the further benefit of learners. As a result, the LSC will have a strong regional and local capacity, spending less time on transactional processes and more time developing relationships with key partners and stakeholders.
	Sector Skills Councils are not funded by the Department and, in the main, are independent private sector organisations. Accordingly, the information requested is not held by the Department.

Higher Education: Mental Health

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many young people gave up a university first degree course for mental health reasons in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many students abandoned a university first degree course in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many students had their university course terminated prematurely by the university they attend in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: The available information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  UK-domiciled students on first degree courses at English higher education institutions, who left their course 
			  Year student left course  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Academic failure/left in bad standing/not permitted to progress(1) 8,080 8,535 8,750 9,150 9,705 
			 Exclusion(2) 705 395 620 1,125 1,330 
			 Health reasons 1,165 1,215 1,240 1,140 1,150 
			 Abandoned the course(3) 14,100 14,620 15,285 15,840 16,145 
			 (1) Academic failure/left in bad standing/not permitted to progress indicates a fail at any stage, or students who unsuccessfully completed their qualification aim. (2) Exclusion is the breaking of institutional rules, either behavioural or financial. (3) "Abandoned the course" indicates the following categories: financial reasons other personal reasons and dropped out, inactive students written off after lapse of time, gone into employment.  Note :  1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) 
		
	
	A further breakdown of "health reasons" to show those who terminated their course due to mental health reasons is not available. Separate information on students, who have been turned away due to the course no longer being taught, is not available.
	The Performance Indicators In Higher Education, published by the High Education Statistic Agency (HESA) include an indicator which shows the proportion of UK-domiciled entrants to full-time first degree courses at higher education institutions in England, who are projected to neither obtain an award no transfer to another course. This information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Proportion of UK-domiciled entrants to full-time first degree courses at higher education institutions in England, who are projected to neither obtain an award nor transfer to another course 
			  Percentage 
			 2000-01 15.0 
			 2001-02 13.8 
			 2002-03 13.9 
			 2003-04 14.4 
			 2004-05 13.8 
			  Source: Performance indicators in Higher Education, published by HESA

Higher Education: NHS

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much was spent on the  (a) NHS University,  (b) NHS Institute for Learning Skills and Innovation and  (c) NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05 and (iii) 2005-06, including redundancy payments to staff following closure.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	NHS University (NHSU) expenditure for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 was £27 million. NHSU expenditure for the period 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 was £38.194 million. NHSU expenditure for the period 1 April to 31 July 2005 was £15.953 million.
	The NHSU dissolved as a special health authority on 31 July 2005, and the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement was the successor body.
	NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement expenditure for the period 1 July 2005 to 31 March 2006 (including redundancy payments to staff following NHSU closure) was £42.450 million.

Higher Education: Research

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much the charitable sector spent on research in universities in each of the last five financial years.

Bill Rammell: Research income received by higher education institutions in England from UK-based charities for the last five academic years for which date are available is shown in the table. The information is not collected by financial year.
	
		
			   Income (£ million) 
			 2001/02 504 
			 2002/03 542 
			 2003/04 577 
			 2004/05 586 
			 2005/06 610 
			  Source: Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Higher Education: Research

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what percentage of the full economic costs of research is covered by the Charity Research Support Fund.

Bill Rammell: The Charity Research Support Fund does not aim to cover a fixed percentage of the full economic cost of projects. It is a contribution by the Government to the joint efforts of charities and higher education institutions to make charity-funded research financially sustainable by the end of this decade. In the 2007/08 academic year, the Charity Research Support Fund will be worth £180 million. Allocation of that money by the Higher Education Funding Council for England will be based on charity funding of eligible projects in 2005/06, which totalled £599.85 million.

Higher Education: Research

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what plans he has for funding for the Charity Research Support Fund.

Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 19 July 2007,  Official Report, column 550w.

Higher Education: Science

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of university students studying  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry and  (c) biochemistry in each of the last 10 years had an A or A* in (i) mathematics, (ii) physics and (iii) chemistry GCSE;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of university students studying  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry and  (c) biochemistry had a mathematics A level in each of the last 10 years.

Bill Rammell: The information is not collected centrally.

Higher Education: Student Wastage

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what percentage of A-Level students from each local education authority continued their education to university level in each of the last 10 years.

Bill Rammell: The latest available figures on participation in higher education by local authority based on students entering courses were published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in January 2005 in "Young Participation in England", which is available from their website at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2005/05_03/ This report shows participation rates for young people who enter higher education aged 18 or 19, disaggregated by local authority, for the years 1997 to 2000. The figures cover all 18 or 19-year-olds, not just those with A-levels. HEFCE have not produced participation rates beyond 2000.
	The main measure for tracking progress on increasing participation is currently the higher education initial participation rate (HEIPR). This is the sum of the HE initial participation rates for individual ages between 17 and 30 inclusive. It covers English-domiciled first-time entrants to HE courses, which are expected to last for at least six months, at UK higher education institutions and English, Scottish and Welsh further education colleges, and who remain on their course for at least six months. The latest provisional figure for 2005/06 is 43 per cent. The HEIPR is not calculated at local authority level.
	The HEIPR is available from the academic year 1999/2000. It is the sum of the age specific initial participation rates for ages 17 to 30. The age specific initial participation rate for 18-year-olds is shown in the table. The figures cover the whole population not just those completing their A-levels.
	
		
			   Number of initial entrants  HEIPR for 18-year-olds (Percentage) 
			 1999/2000 115,100 19.3 
			 2000/01 114,000 19.5 
			 2001/02 118,200 19.6 
			 2002/03 122,400 19.7 
			 2003/04 124,700 19.2 
			 2004/05 127,200 19.6 
			 2005/06 141,700 21.3 
			  Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100.

Learning and Skills Council for England: Finance

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funding will be diverted to local authorities as a result of changes to the machinery of Government announced on 28 June; what assessment he has made of the likely effect this will have on the number of staff the LSC employs; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: As set out in "Machinery of Government: Departmental Organisation", in order to provide strong strategic leadership for the 14-19 phase, overall planning responsibilities for that phase will transfer to the Department for Children, Schools and Families, as will all funding for 14-19 learners. Subject to consultation on the details and timing, to ensure there is no disruption to schools, colleges and training providers and the introduction of new diplomas, and the need to pass the necessary legislation, funding for school sixth forms, sixth form colleges and the contribution of FE colleges to the 14-19 phase will transfer from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to local authorities' ring-fenced education budgets. No decisions have yet been made about the proportion of LSC funding which will transfer to local authorities' ring-fenced education budgets and I estimate that it will be 2010/11 when the necessary legislative changes can take effect. In the three years until then, the LSC retains the legal responsibility for securing and funding all forms of post-16 education and training outside higher education, including 16-19 provision. We will be working closely with the LSC and other national partners, along with schools, colleges and training providers, to ensure that the changes are well managed, including any impact on the deployment of staff.

Mature Students

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of people in  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time employment enrolled on college courses in England in the last five years.

Bill Rammell: We do not have information on the employment status of all people enrolling on college courses throughout the year. However, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) allows us to take a snap-shot estimate of the proportion of people in full-time and part-time employment who are enrolled on college courses at the time they are interviewed. The following table shows the estimates from the LFS winter quarter between 2001 and 2005.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Proportion of adults( 1)  in full-time employment enrolled on college courses( 2)  Proportion of adults( 1)  in part-time employment enrolled on college courses( 2) 
			 2001 3.2 6.2 
			 2002 3.2 5.8 
			 2003 3.0 5.5 
			 2004 2.8 5.3 
			 2005 2.6 4.9 
			 (1 )Adults are defined as men aged 19-64 and women aged 19-59. (2 )College courses are defined as courses studied at colleges of further education, adult education centres, and independent colleges or universities.

Mature Students: Student Wastage

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many mature students withdrew from their higher education course in each year since 2003; and for what reasons they withdrew.

Bill Rammell: The Performance Indicators in Higher Education, published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), include an indicator showing the proportion of UK-domiciled mature (aged 21 and over) entrants to full-time first degree courses at higher education institutions in England, who did not continue into higher education after their first year. A similar indicator is available for mature entrants to full-time other undergraduate courses. The available information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Proportion of UK-domiciled mature (aged 21 and over) entrants to full-time higher education courses at higher education institutions in England, who did not continue into higher education after their first year 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 First degree 15.1 15.4 14.0 
			 Other undergraduate courses 14.5 14.3 14.8 
			  Source: "Performance Indicators in Higher Education", published by HESA 
		
	
	The specific reasons for these groups of students withdrawing from their courses are not given.

Nanotechnology: Finance

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  if he will increase the budget allocated in 2006-07 to support managed nanotechnology programmes;
	(2)  what mechanisms he has used to assess the potential effect of nanotechnology on economic development and societal change.

Ian Pearson: The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and the research councils have the responsibility to determine both the detailed distribution of funding between their specific R and D and research priorities and the relevant funding mechanism.
	More recently, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has undertaken studies on the socio-economic issues of nanotechnology:
	"Nanotechnology: from the science to the social" was published in 2007 and follows up ESRC's earlier analysis "The social and economic challenges of nanotechnology" published in 2003 9both available on ESRC website
	http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/).
	In addition, Research Councils UK has commissioned a study into developing a robust methodology for assessing future impact from Research Council investments. This should report by the end of the year.
	The Engineering and physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is implementing a programme in nanoscience through engineering to application, in order to build on the platform of earlier investments and to realise the benefits of the technology for society and the economy Key features will be:
	strong partnerships with the TSB to achieve pull-through to a range of sectors;
	the participation of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and other research councils where relevant;
	a grand challenge approach to identify the highest impact research areas;
	leadership and co-ordination by a senior strategy advisor from the community.
	Officials also sit on a new OECED working party on nanotechnology which will address a number of topics including impacts and business environment and the contribution of nanotechnology to addressing global challenges.

Overseas Students

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of students at universities in England were from overseas in each year since 1990-91.

Bill Rammell: The available information is given in the tables:
	
		
			  Proportion of overseas students( 1)  in higher education in the UK 1990/91 to 1993/94 
			  Academic year  UK domiciled students  Non UK domiciled students  Proportion of non UK domiciled students (percentage) 
			 1990/91 1,094,935 80,630 6.9 
			 1991/92 1,211,385 88,655 6.8 
			 1992/93 1,333,355 110,295 7.6 
			 1993/94 1,450,425 128,510 8.1 
			 (1) Includes HE level students taught in higher education and further education establishments.  Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.  Source: The Universities Statistical Record (USR) and the education departments of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 
		
	
	
		
			  Proportion of overseas students in UK higher education institutions 1994/95 to 2005/06 
			  Academic year  UK domiciled students  Non UK domiciled students  Proportion of non UK domiciled students (percentage) 
			 1994/95 1,380,620 153,745 10.0 
			 1995/96 1,497,185 184,625 11.0 
			 1996/97 1,532,205 186,705 10.9 
			 1997/98 1,558,585 200,965 11.4 
			 1998/99 1,598,945 207,130 11.5 
			 1999/2000 1,604,520 211,840 11.7 
			 2000/01 1,643,865 219,725 11.8 
			 2001/02 1,699,885 227,270 11.8 
			 2002/03 1,764,945 255,235 12.6 
			 2003/04 1,832,975 275,480 13.1 
			 2004/05 1,870,715 288,430 13.4 
			 2005/06 1,880,230 296,105 13.6 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.  2. Proportions are based upon figures calculated on a snapshot basis as at the 1 December to maintain a consistent time series across all years.  3. Figures cover postgraduate and undergraduate students on full-time and part-time courses.  Source:  The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Postgraduate Education: Science

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of state-supported doctoral students beginning their courses in each of the last 10 years studied  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry,  (c) a physical science,  (d) a biological science and  (e) biochemistry.

Bill Rammell: The latest information for all entrants to doctorate courses by subject of study are given in the following table. A new classification for recording subject of study was introduced in 2002/03 and so figures from 2002/03 onwards are not comparable to earlier years.
	
		
			  UK domiciled doctorate entrants to higher education institutions in England—1996/97 to 2001/02 
			  Subject of study  1996/97  1997/98  1998/99  1999/2000  2000/01  2001/02 
			  Number   
			 Physical sciences 995 1,015 1,045 1,080 980 1 ,025 
			  of which:   
			 Chemistry 560 510 475 515 450 495 
			 Physics 230 270 285 300 270 290 
			
			 Biological sciences 1,085 1,085 1,295 1,275 1,235 1,315 
			  of which:   
			 Biochemistry 125 110 150 140 120 160 
			 Other subjects 4,130 4,190 5,030 5,255 5,400 5,325 
			 Total 6,210 6,290 7,370 7,605 7,620 7,660 
			
			  Percentage   
			 Physical sciences 16 16 14 14 13 13 
			  of which:   
			 Chemistry 9 8 6 7 6 6 
			 Physics 4 4 4 4 4 4 
			
			 Biological science 17 17 18 17 16 17 
			  of which:   
			 Biochemistry 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			 Other subjects 67 67 68 69 71 69 
			 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1st December excluding those writing up, on sabbatical or dormant. Students from the Open University are also excluded from the analysis. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record 
		
	
	
		
			  UK domiciled doctorate entrants to higher education institutions in England—2002/03 to 2005/06 
			  Subject of study  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06 
			  Number 
			 Physical sciences 980 1,010 980 1,020 
			  of which: 
			 Chemistry 445 430 400 400 
			 Physics 295 300 290 320 
			  
			 Biological sciences 1,260 1,500 1,460 1,555 
			  of which: 
			 Molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry 115 170 165 190 
			 Other subjects 5,435 5,545 5,570 5,610 
			 Total 7,680 8,055 8,005 8,185 
			  
			  Percentage 
			 Physical sciences 13 13 12 12 
			  of which: 
			 Chemistry 6 5 5 5 
			 Physics 4 4 4 4 
			  
			 Biological sciences 16 19 18 19 
			  of which: 
			 Molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry 1 2 2 2 
			 Other subjects 71 69 70 69 
			 Total 100 100 100 100 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December excluding those writing up, on sabbatical or dormant. Students from the Open University are also excluded from the analysis. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record 
		
	
	In addition to monies paid to institutions in England, the Department provides financial support to English domiciled undergraduate students in the form of loans and grants through the Student Loans Company. Postgraduate students however are not entitled to student support, other than Disabled Students' Allowances.

Student Numbers

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students there were on non-prescribed higher education courses in each of the last 10 years, broken down by course type.

Bill Rammell: The available information is given in the tables.
	
		
			  Enrolments at English Higher Education Institutions( 1,)  Academic Years 1996/97 to 2005/06 
			  Qualification Aim  1996/97  1997/98  1998/99  1999/2000  2000/01 
			 Total prescribed courses 1,204,615 1,226,300 1,244,505 1,249,595 1,275,890 
			 Total non-prescribed courses Of which: 95,850 97,455 110,405 107,220 107,305 
			  Of which:  
			 Professional qualifications(2) 15,235 15,945 18,930 18,355 16,320 
			 Foundation courses at HE level 4,385 4,075 4,650 4,345 4,880 
			 Other formal HE qualifications below degree level 10,620 7,950 8,755 5,555 6,065 
			 Qualified Teacher Status only (licensed teachers) 0 0 20 5 10 
			 NVQ level 5 455 290 225 105 40 
			 NVQ level 4 1,375 920 570 235 380 
			 Institutional undergraduate credit 47,585 50,955 58,705 62,440 62,010 
			 Institutional postgraduate credit 4,890 5,750 5,510 5,650 6,785 
			 No formal undergraduate qualification 9,755 10,380 11,690 9,455 9,610 
			 No formal postgraduate qualification 1,550 1,185 1,345 1,080 1,205 
			 Total all courses 1,300,465 1,323,755 1,354,910 1,356,815 1,383,200 
		
	
	
		
			  Qualification Aim  2001/02  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06 
			 Total prescribed courses 1,320,565 1,404,635 1,452,700 1,473,215 1,514,010 
			 Total non-prescribed courses 105,765 94,310 94,370 95,925 93,190 
			  Of which:  
			 Professional qualifications(2) 13,145 11,320 12,725 10,930 10,280 
			 Foundation courses at HE level 3,560 0 0 0 0 
			 Other formal HE qualifications below degree level 4,465 2,880 3,980 3,630 3,485 
			 Qualified Teacher Status only (licensed teachers) 25 125 160 285 240 
			 NVQ level 5 25 30 40 15 0 
			 NVQ level 4 520 505 500 635 70 
			 Institutional undergraduate credit 68,215 62,085 60,955 56,835 60,890 
			 Institutional postgraduate credit 4,600 6,970 6,355 7,880 6,620 
			 No formal undergraduate qualification 9,570 8,820 8,295 14,285 9,040 
			 No formal postgraduate qualification 1,640 1,580 1,360 1,435 2,560 
			 Total all courses 1,426,335 1,498,950 1,547,070 1,569,140 1,607,200 
			 (1) Figures exclude the Open university due to changes in their methodology of coding the qualification aim of a student since 1997/98. (2 )Includes professional qualification at undergraduate level, including those for serving school teachers.  Note :  Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December (excluding those writing up, on sabbatical or dormant) and are rounded to the nearest 5.   Source :  Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record.

Student Wastage

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of students at each relevant institution did not complete their degrees in each of the last 10 years.

Bill Rammell: The available information on the proportion of UK-domiciled entrants to full-time first degree courses who are projected to neither obtain an award nor transfer to another course is taken from table T5 of the Performance Indicators in Higher Education and has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	This information was published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) for academic years 2001/02 to 2003/04 and by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) for 1996/97 to 2000/01. HESA will publish the figures for 2004/05 on 19 July 2007.
	The information is also available at the following websites:
	HEFCE (1996/97 to 2000/01):
	http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/perfind/default.asp
	HESA (2001/02 to 2003/04):
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/pi/home.htm

Student Wastage

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the non-completion rate was of  (a) part-time,  (b) full-time students and  (c) mature full-time students, broken down by institution in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: The available information on the proportion of UK-domiciled entrants to full-time first degree courses who are projected to neither obtain an award nor transfer to another course is taken from table T5 of the Performance Indicators in Higher Education and has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	This information was published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) for academic years 2001/02 to 2003/04 and by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) for 1996/97 to 2000/01. HESA will publish the figures for 2004/05 on 19 July 2007.
	Projected non-completion rates are not split by age group. However, the non-continuation indicators, taken from table T3a of the Performance Indicators in Higher Education, are available for young and mature age groups. These give the proportion of UK-domiciled entrants to full-time first degree courses who do not continue in higher education after their first year.
	Neither the non-completion nor the non-continuation indicators are available for part-time students.
	The information is also available at the following websites:
	HEFCE (for figures up to 2001/02 inclusive):
	http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/perfind/default.asp
	HESA (for figures since 2002/03 inclusive):
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/pi/home.htm
	Information on non-continuation indicators for all full-time first degree students is also available at these websites.

Students: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many  (a) part-time and  (b) full-time students registered for higher education courses at universities in East Sussex in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: The available information is given in the table. The University of Sussex is the only Higher Education Institution with its headquarters in East Sussex local authority.
	
		
			  Enrolments at the University of Sussex, 1997/98 to 2005/06 
			   1997/98  1998/99  1999/00  2000/01  2001/02  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06 
			  Postgraduates  
			 Full time 1,525 1,490 1,420 1,610 1,650 1,680 1,900 1,880 1,855 
			 Part time 680 875 820 870 910 805 785 915 940 
			 Total 2,205 2,365 2,240 2,480 2,560 2,485 2,690 2,790 2,795 
			   
			  Undergraduates  
			 Full time 6,945 6,985 6,805 6,900 6,945 6,905 6,775 6,815 6,985 
			 Part time 2,350 2,400 1,855 1,535 1,575 1,690 1,640 1,735 1,590 
			 Total 9,295 9,385 8,660 8,435 8,520 8,595 8,415 8,550 8,575 
			   
			  All HE students  
			 Full time 8,470 8,475 8,225 8,505 8,595 8,585 8,675 8,695 8,840 
			 Part time 3,025 3,275 2,675 2,405 2,485 2,495 2,430 2,650 2,530 
			 Total 11,495 11,750 10,900 10,915 11,080 11,080 11,105 11,345 11,370 
			  Note: Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December, excluding those writing up on sabbatical or dormant. This is so that the figures are comparable across all the years. Snapshot figures will exclude students who are not in attendance on the 1 December, i.e. those on non-traditional academic years. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.  Source:  Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Students: Finance

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many people receiving education maintenance allowance do not qualify for maintenance grants but would do so under the new student support proposals;
	(2)  how many people are receiving education maintenance allowance, broken down by age; and what level of grant they will be eligible for under his new student support proposals.

Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
	In the 2006-07 academic year 521,650 students were in receipt of EMA. This includes:
	257,680 aged 16.
	197,230 aged 17.
	64,860 aged 18.
	1,880 aged 19.
	The threshold for EMA support is lower than the threshold for HE student support. Therefore under current arrangements all students in receipt of EMA would be eligible for some level of HE student support if their household incomes did not increase. We do not currently have information on how many more students would qualify for HE maintenance support under the new proposals.
	Under the new proposals all 16-year-olds who receive EMA will be guaranteed a minimum level of support if they undertake a higher education course even if their household incomes increase. All 16-year-olds who receive the maximum level of EMA will be guaranteed the maximum level of maintenance grant (currently 2,700). This financial security will allow young people to look ahead to progressing to HE with confidence and no doubts about the finance support they will receive.

Students: Grants

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  what percentage of university level students receive education grants;
	(2)  how many university level students receive education grants.

Bill Rammell: Data on maintenance and higher education grants for students in England 2006/07(1) applying for support through the Student Loans Company are given in the tables.
	Maintenance grants were introduced for new full-time English domiciled students entering higher education in 2006/07, and replaced the higher education grant. The maximum amount of support available is £2,700 a year, and how much a student receives depends on their income and that of their household.
	(1 )Data for 2006/07 are provisional
	
		
			  Distribution of maintenance grants 
			   Student numbers ( thousand )( 1, 2)  Percentage of total 
			 Students in receipt of a full maintenance grant 80 29 
			 Students in receipt of a partial maintenance grant 61 22 
			 Students in receipt of a nil maintenance grant 133 49 
			 Total 275 100 
			 (1) Includes the Special Support Grant which is payable to vulnerable groups of students who are eligible for Department for Work and Pensions benefits. (2) Student numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand  Source:  Student Loans Company (SLC) 
		
	
	Students who entered higher education in 2004/05 and 2005/06 may be eligible for a means-tested higher education grant of up to £1,000.
	
		
			  Distribution of higher education grants 
			   Student numbers ( thousand )( 1)  Percentage of total( 2) 
			 Students in receipt of a full HE grant 115 26 
			 Students in receipt of a partial HE grant 26 6 
			 Students in receipt of no HE grant 309 69 
			 Total 451 100 
			 (1) Student numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand. (2) Totals may not add due to roundings.  Source:  Student Loans Company (SLC) 
		
	
	We have just announced improvements to the student finance package which will help students and graduates manage their finances better. For entrants to HE from 2008/09, the maintenance grant income thresholds have been raised making one third of students eligible for a full grant and another third eligible for a partial grant.

Students: Loans

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the  (a) average and  (b) maximum student loan was in (i) Eastbourne and (ii) East Sussex in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: The available data is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Average value of income-contingent student loan, students domiciled in East Sussex, Academic years 1999/00 to 2005/06 
			  Academic year( 2)  Average value of income-contingent loan( 1) ,  East Sussex local authority (£) 
			 1999/2000 3,280 
			 2000/01 3,230 
			 2001/02 3,270 
			 2002/03 3,320 
			 2003/04 3,350 
			 2004/05 3,400 
			 2005/06(3) 3,480 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. (2) Data are not available prior to 1999/2000 (3 )Provisional  Source:  Student Loans Company. 
		
	
	Separate data are not available for Eastbourne.
	The maximum amount of maintenance loan to which a student is entitled is dependent upon where they are living during their study, rather than their domicile. The rates are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Maximum student loans for maintenance in 2006/07 
			  £ 
			  Location of study  Full year rates up to  Final year rates( 1 ) up to 
			 Students living away from their parents' home and studying in London 6,170 5,620 
			 Students living away from their parents' home and studying elsewhere 4,405 4,080 
			 Students living at their parents' home (London and elsewhere) 3,415 3,085 
			 (1) The amounts of loan are lower in the final year as students leave higher education at the end of the summer and will not need financial support over the summer holiday.

Training: Finance

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the  (a) core budget and  (b) total amount of funding received from Government sources was for the (i) Adult Learning Inspectorate, (ii) Basic Skills Agency, (iii) British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, (iv) Business Link Network, (v) Connexions, (vi) the Learning and Skills Council, (vii) the Learning and Skills Network, (viii) the Sector Skills Development Agency, (ix) Skills for Business Network, (x) Office for Fair Access, (xi) Quality Assurance Agency, (xii) Quality Improvement Agency, (xiii) University for Industry and Learndirect and (xiv) National Education Business Partnership Network in (1) 2003-04, (2) 2004-05, (3) 2005-06 and (4) 2006-07; and which of these have Civil service terms and conditions for their staff.

John Denham: The information requested is set out in the following table. The vast majority of funding is spent on programme expenditure that directly funds learning or other services, for example improving the quality of provision. This funding is included in the category of 'other/programme expenditure'.
	The category 'core funding' refers to administrative costs which are the costs of staff salaries as well as other non-pay costs such as accommodation, computer facilities and stationary.
	The notes set out where it has not been possible to separate out administrative costs and programme costs or where figures are simply not available.
	None of the following organisations have civil service terms and conditions for their staff, though some staff are members of the civil service pension scheme.
	
		
			  Funding from public sources 
			  £ million 
			  Organisation  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  Adult Learning Inspectorate 
			 Core budget 26.63 27.72 26.81 21.83 
			 Other/programme expenditure — — — — 
			 Total 26.63 27.72 26.81 21.83 
			  
			  Basic Skills Agency( 1) 
			 Core budget 5.41 5.47 5.71 5.85 
			 Other/programme expenditure 6.32 1.28 0.6 0.6 
			 Total 11.73 6.75 6.31 6.45 
			  
			  British Educational Communications and Technology Agency 
			 Core budget 11.85 15.46 10.56 12.1 
			 Other/programme expenditure 20.20 26.00 23.50 21.60 
			 Total 32.05 41.46 34.06 33.7 
			  
			  Business Link Network( 2) 
			 Core budget — — — — 
			 Other/programme expenditure 55.90 73.46 152.13 148.13 
			 Total 55.90 73.46 152.13 148.13 
			  
			  Connexions( 3) 
			 Core budget — — — — 
			 Other/programme expenditure 451 458 445 407 
			 Total 451 458 445 407 
			  
			  Learning and Skills Council( 4,5) 
			 Core budget 269.30 244.09 289.59 239.42 
			 Other/programme expenditure 8,308.94 8,722.31 9,842.01 10,316.23 
			 Total 8,578.24 8,966.40 10,131.61 10,555.64 
			  
			  Learning and Skills Network( 6) 
			 Core budget n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Other/programme expenditure n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Total n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  Sector Skills Development Agency 
			 Core budget 4.93 6.11 6.58 7.63 
			 Other/programme expenditure 29.97 64.14 61.73 67.22 
			 Total 34.90 70.24 68.31 74.85 
			  
			  Skills for Business Network( 7) 
			 Core budget n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Other/programme expenditure n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Total n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  Office for Fair Access( 8) 
			 Core budget n/a 0.41 0.5 0.5 
			 Other/programme expenditure n/a — — — 
			 Total n/a 0.41 0.5 0.5 
			  
			  Quality Assurance Agency( 9) 
			 Core budget — — — — 
			 Other/programme expenditure — — — — 
			 Total 2.30 4.14 4.12 3.02 
			  
			  Quality Improvement Agency( 10) 
			 Core budget n/a n/a n/a 5.94 
			 Other/programme expenditure n/a n/a n/a 87.20 
			 Total n/a n/a n/a 93.14 
			  
			  University for Industry and Learndirect( 11) 
			 Core budget — — — — 
			 Other/programme expenditure 239 182 201 171 
			 Total 239 182 201 171 
			  
			  National Education Business Partnership Network( 12) 
			 Core budget — — — — 
			 Other/programme expenditure 0.12 0.14 0.23 0.27 
			 Total 0.12 0.14 0.23 0.27 
			 (1) The core budget figures cover both programme and administration costs and it is not possible to separate these out. Other/programme expenditure relates to fixed term or tendered contracts. (2) It is not currently possible to split out the funding for the Business Link Network into core expenditure and programme expenditure. (3 )Only programme funds are provided to Connexions Partnerships, the majority of which pays for the salary costs of Connexions Personal Advisers. The figures exclude funding for Connexions routed via Local Area Agreements to local authorities since this does not go to Connexions Partnerships. Figures only cover grant from the former DFES. We do not hold figures for any funds brought in by Connexions Partnerships which may include some public sector funding. (4) These figures include some of the funding identified separately for the University for Industry. (5) Subject to the successful passage of the Further Education and Training Bill, the LSC is expecting to reduce administration expenditure in 2007-08 through restructuring and the associated reductions in staffing, property and related costs. Expenditure on LSC administration Is expected to reduce from £239 million (2.2 per cent. of LSC's budget) in 2006-07 to planned expenditure of £219 million (1.9 per cent. of LSC's budget) in 2007-08. (6) The LSN is a private company competing for contracts through competitive tender. It receives some public funding from the QIA which is included separately in the figures quoted for the QIA, Many colleges and other providers in the FE system subscribe to LSN services using public funds, but this is an indirect relationship with government and the funds are not shown here. (7) The Skills for Business Network is the brand under which the 25 Sector Skills Councils and the SSDA come together for marketing purposes. It is not a separately funded body or a legally constituted body of any description. (8) The Office for Fair Access was established on 14 October 2004 but expenditure was incurred from 1 July 2004. (9) Figures cover the HEFCE contract with the QAA only. HEFCE is not the sole source of income for the Quality Assurance Agency which also receives subscriptions from institutions and funding from other UK funding councils. It is not currently possible to provide the breakdown between core and programme expenditure. (10 )The Quality Improvement Agency was only formed in 2006 so figures have only been provided for that year. (11) We have not included a breakdown of Ufi administration costs as they are not available in the format required. (12 )The National Education Business Partnerships Network is the umbrella organisation and national voice for the 126 local Education Business Partnerships working in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Since 2003-04 DFES has grant-funded NEBPN to manage national networks for local and national practitioners of (a) work experience, (b) teachers' professional development placements in business, (c) enterprise education. It is not possible to separate out core costs from the programme expenditure.

Training: Finance

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many local Train to Gain budgets are  (a) overspent,  (b) on target or  (c) underspent.

David Lammy: Train to Gain is an ongoing service and as such, performance is updated on a regular basis. Detailed operational information is not held centrally by the Department but is collected by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Mark Haysom, the LSC Chief Executive will write directly to the hon. Member with the available information. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Vocational Training

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  which employers who signed up to the Skills Pledge have been awarded Government contracts in the last five years;
	(2)  which employers who signed up to the Skills Pledge receive  (a) all,  (b) more than 50 per cent. and  (c) any relevant funding from the public sector.

David Lammy: On 14 June the Government launched the Skills Pledge with commitments from 157 employers with more than 1.7 million employees. Since the launch, employers have continued to register their interest in the Skills Pledge through the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) Train to Gain website and helpline. The Learning and Skills Council is responsible for the operational aspects of the Skills Pledge, including recording which of those employers making a Skills Pledge are from the public sector. Mark Haysom will write to the hon. Member and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House. Employers who make a commitment to a Skills Pledge are able to access the support of a skills broker. These independent, impartial experts will help employers identify the skills needed to meet their business needs and any sources of public funding available. Those employers who have already committed to the Skills Pledge are now working through how best to fulfil their commitment, including any requirement for public funding.
	Information on which of these employers hold a contract with Government agencies is not held centrally.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 31 July 2007:
	As the Learning and Skills Council is responsible for the operational aspects of the Skills Pledge the Minister for Skills, David Lammy, has asked me to respond to your recent parliamentary question; which employers who signed up to the Skills Pledge receive a) all, b) more than 50 per cent. and c) any relevant funding from the public sector.
	When a company or organisation registers its intention to make the Skills Pledge, it will have the option of accessing support and advice from a Skills Broker through Train to Gain. In respect of Central Government Departments, we are currently liaising with Government Skills to agree Skills Pledge support and advice arrangements. We are also working with DIUS to finalise criteria for Government Departments and their Agencies accessing public funding through Train to Gain/Skills Pledge.
	Of the 156 employers who made the Skills Pledge on the 14th June 2007 those which could be classified as public sector bodies include: 21 Central Government employers, 15 Non-Departmental Public Bodies, 8 Regional Development Agencies, 6 Local Authorities and 8 other public sector bodies.
	I hope this information is helpful and please do not hesitate to contact my colleague Gail Bailey on 02476 823269 or by email gail.bailey @lsc.gov.uk if you would like to discuss further.

Vocational Training

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  what proportion of businesses that have participated in the Train to Gain scheme have five employees or fewer; and what percentage of the Train to Gain budget is allocated to those businesses;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of each level of qualification have been achieved under the Train to Gain scheme in the last 12 months;
	(3)  what proportion of training conducted under the Train to Gain scheme has resulted from the use of skills brokers.

David Lammy: Train to Gain is an ongoing service and as such performance is updated on a regular basis. Detailed operational information is not held centrally by the Department but is collected by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Mark Haysom, the LSC Chief Executive will write directly to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 7 August 2007:
	I am writing in response to your recent Parliamentary Questions regarding Train to Gain. I have answered them in turn below.
	What proportion of businesses that have participated in the Train to Gain scheme have five employees or less; and what percentage of the Train to Gain budget is allocated to those businesses:
	LSC collects employer data by the following size bands: 1-49 employees, 50-249 employees, 250-4,999 employees and 5,000 plus employees. In the first 16 months of Train to Gain, 67% of organisations engaged are from the 1-49 band.
	The Train to Gain budget is not allocated by these employer size bands. Instead, Skills Brokers are currently required to achieve a target of 51% of employers engaged being 'hard to reach' which means they have not supported their employees to participate in vocational training leading to qualifications in the previous 12 months, and are not an Investors in People recognised company. Typically, micro and very small organisations are most likely to be 'hard to reach' so a high proportion of employers engaged to date will nave fewer than 50 employees.
	How many and what proportion of each level of qualification have been achieved under the Train to Gain scheme in the last 12 months.
	The following achievements have been secured the period April 2006-June 2007.
	Level 2/3 47,880
	Basic Skills 11,680
	While it is relatively early in the life cycle of Train to Gain and success rates will change in the next few months as providers submit success data, the current evidence indicates success rates of about 70% for both programme areas.
	What proportion of training conducted under the Train to Gain scheme has resulted from the use of skills brokers:
	It is early in the life cycle of Train to Gain and the LSC is still collecting and analysing data from providers and brokers. However, early indications are that 30% of learners have arisen from skills brokers who are targeting "Hard to Reach" employers that tend to be small organisations. This percentage is in line with original DfES and LSC planning assumptions.

Vocational Training

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what qualifications are required for employment as a skills broker as part of the Train to Gain scheme.

David Lammy: Train to Gain is a new service that reached national coverage in August 2006 and is a critical part of the drive to make this country's skills world class. Skills brokers are contracted for and performance managed by the Learning and Skills Council. It is a contractual requirement that, within 12 months of their appointment, every skills broker meets the new independently assessed City and Guilds accredited skills broker standard as part of the business support profession.

Young People: Parents

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of teenage parents aged 16 to 19 are in education, employment or training.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	According to data collected in the 2006 Annual Population Survey, 29 per cent. of teenage parents aged 16 to 19 in England were in education, employment or training at the time they were surveyed.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Acid Rain

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the  (a) effects of acid rain and  (b) trends in those effects in (i) the UK and (ii) internationally.

Phil Woolas: Over the last two decades, the Government have supported an extensive research programme to investigate and understand the effects of acid rain on the environment.
	The research has provided us with a greater understanding of the impacts of acid rain on both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and there is now evidence of recovery in some of the most acid-sensitive sites in the UK.
	Most recent assessments of impacts on terrestrial ecosystems have also shown that there is a continuing reduction, over the last decade, in the areas of sensitive ecosystems across the UK, at risk from damage from acidification.
	No direct assessment has been undertaken by the Government of the trends or effects of acid rain at an international level. However, the UK contributes significantly financially, and through provision of scientific expertise, to the work of the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution. The ongoing review of one of the Protocols under the Convention (the Gothenburg Protocol) has highlighted significant reductions in sulphur deposition and consequent impacts on ecosystems across the UNECE region. Aquatic and forest ecosystems have also become less acidified.

Aggregates Levy

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the future of the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.

Jonathan R Shaw: The future of the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund beyond March 2008 is being decided in the current Comprehensive Spending Review.

Aggregates Levy: High Peak

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which projects in High Peak have been funded by the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund; and what the value is of each project.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following projects have been funded by the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund in Derbyshire. We do not have a breakdown by constituency.
	
		
			  Project title  Finish date  Grant (£) 
			 Aston on Trent Memorial Hall—Extension and Refurbishment 31 March 2007 50,000 
			 Bamford Methodist Church and Hall—Replacement Windows 31 March 2007 13,600 
			 Birchover Mires Restoration Project 31 March 2004 10,632 
			 Bonsall Field Barn Restoration Project (Phase I) 31 March 2005 14,049 
			 Bonsall Field Barn Restoration Project (Phase II) 31 March 2007 50,000 
			 Brierlow Bar Drystone Wall Repairs 31 March 2007 19,890 
			 Bugsworth Basin—Repair of Wharf Walls 31 March 2007 46,501 
			 Burbage Institute Improvements 11 January 2006 7,400 
			 Buxton and High Peak Golf Club Tree Planting Scheme 31 March 2005 5,100 
			 Buxton Cricket, Bowling and Tennis Club—Restoration of Pavilion 31 March 2007 34,000 
			 Buxton for Youth—Conversion of Premises 31 March 2007 30,434 
			 Creswell Social Centre Kitchen Refurbishment 31 March 2007 12,518 
			 Crich War Memorial Tower 1 April 2004 34,361 
			 Cromford Hill Walling Project 31 March 2004 10,383 
			 Cromford Hill Walling Scheme (Phase II) 31 March 2005 9,394 
			 Cromford North Street Design Study 31 March 2007 14,250 
			 Cromford Via Gelia Ponds and Footpaths Project 31 March 2007 38,750 
			 Cromford Via Gelia Woodlands Stone Walling Scheme 31 March 2007 19,745 
			 Dene Quarry—Dry Stone Wall Restoration (Phase II) 31 March 2007 15,750 
			 Derwent Gardens Restoration, Matlock Bath 31 March 2007 10,000 
			 Dove Holes Community Amenity Access Project 31 March 2005 14,419 
			 Dove Holes Cricket Club—Provision of Cricket Practice Facility and Landscaping 31 March 2007 28,000 
			 Dove Holes Drystone Walling 31 March 2004 2,045 
			 Dove Holes Methodist Church—Repair of Wall 27 October 2005 3,528 
			 Dove Holes Play Area 31 March 2007 26,200 
			 Egginton Memorial Hall Roof Repairs 1 April 2004 38,915 
			 Establishment of Deep Dale Nature Reserve, King Sterndale 31 March 2005 13,881 
			 Fairfield Liberal Club Improvements 31 March 2007 5,693 
			 Floodlighting of Sports Pitch at Buxton Community School 31 March 2004 46,500 
			 Harpur Hill Club Improvements 31 March 2007 6,826 
			 Harpur Hill Methodist Church—Provision of Disabled Toilet 31 March 2007 2,500 
			 Hayfield Skate Park 31 March 2004 19,000 
			 Hodthorpe Play Area 1 April 2004 25,568 
			 Hope St. Peter's Church—Repairs 31 March 2007 5,000 
			 Improvements to National Stone Centre 1 April 2004 31,614 
			 Improvements to Stoney Wood, Wirksworth 31 March 2004 12,074 
			 Improving Access and Biodiversity on Former Aggregates Sites 31 March 2004 32,384 
			 Installation of Pathway in Cromford Playground 31 March 2005 3,825 
			 Middleton Millennium Garden Improvements 31 March 2007 6,875 
			 Newton Solney Church Re-Roofing 31 March 2007 25,000 
			 Peak Dale Bowling Club—Surfacing of Car Park and Landscaping 22 December 2005 25,598 
			 Pennine Bridleway—Perry Dale 1 April 2004 21,800 
			 Pennine Bridleway, Perry Dale (Phase II) 31 March 2004 28,200 
			 Pilot Boundary Stone Wall Restoration Project in Stoney Middleton and Wormhill 31 March 2004 7,500 
			 Provision of Drainage and Water Supply to Vestry of St. Martin's, Stoney Middleton 31 March 2005 9,300 
			 Rebuilding Drystone Walls on Boundary of Dene Quarry, Cromford 31 March 2005 11,500 
			 Rebuilding Stone Walls in Wormhill 31 March 2005 5,526 
			 Rebuilding Walls in Stoney Middleton 31 March 2005 3,786 
			 Restoration of Sterndale Moor Club, Near Buxton 31 March 2005 12,952 
			 Restoration of the "Bear Pit", Cromford 31 March 2005 1,418 
			 Shardlow Village Hall Kitchen Refurbishment 31 March 2004 5,887 
			 Slinter Pond and Tail Race Project, Cromford 31 March 2005 41,938 
			 Slinter Project 1 April 2004 42,564 
			 Soundproofing and Recladding of Middleton Village Hall 31 March 2005 24,057 
			 Stanton Church Bell and Clock Restoration 1 April 2004 5,000 
			 Stanton in Peak Village Hall, Kitchen Improvements 1 April 2004 4,235 
			 Stanton in the Peak Holy Trinity Church—Replacement Heating System 31 March 2007 10,000 
			 Stanton in the Peak Village Green Boundary Wall Replacement 31 March 2004 7,020 
			 Sterndale Moor Play Area 31 March 2004 43,000 
			 Stoney Middleton Conservation Area Drystone Wall Restoration 31 March 2007 5,015 
			 Stoney Middleton Parish Church of St. Martin—Extension of Vestry (Phase II) 31 March 2007 27,570 
			 Stoney Middleton Play Area Improvements 30 September 2006 36,168 
			 Toothbrush Woodland Scheme, Tearsall Quarry, Bonsall Moor 31 March 2004 6,374 
			 Train Ride to History—Wirksworth Mineral Railway Incline (Phase II) 31 March 2005 32,260 
			 Train Ride to History—Wirksworth Mineral Railway Incline 1 April 2004 22,000 
			 Tunstead Walling 31 March 2004 6,432 
			 Watergate Footbridge, Hope 31 March 2007 58,500 
			 Weston on Trent Village Hall Refurbishment 1 April 2004 19,437 
			 Whitwell Footpath 18 Improvements 1 April 2004 3,825 
			 Willington Tennis Court Restoration 28 November 2005 9,750 
			 Wirksworth Community Park Redevelopment 31 March 2007 40,000

Agriculture: Subsidies

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of  (a) administration of and  (b) payments under the Single Payment Scheme has been since its introduction.

Jonathan R Shaw: The cost of administering the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in financial years 2005-06 and 2006-07 was £67.6 million and £75.1 million respectively. Costs include payroll, accommodation, travel and corporate overheads. IT investment costs have been excluded.
	Payments to farmers under the scheme for the period to 30 June 2007 are as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 SPS 2005 1,550 
			 SPS 2006 1,489

Agriculture: Subsidies

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department expects to pay to farmers in North Yorkshire in 2007 in common agricultural policy payments; and how many farms will receive payments.

Jonathan R Shaw: I am unable to make predictions about common agricultural policy payments this year. As far as the main CAP scheme, the single payment scheme (SPS) is concerned, the Rural Payments Agency has paid as at 18 July a total of £1.49 billion. Detailed analysis of all the payments made under the SPS is not yet available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published. The validation of claims under the 2007 SPS is at an early stage.

Agriculture: Wastes

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what incentives are in place to encourage farmers to work with the Government to provide renewable sources of energy from agricultural waste.

Joan Ruddock: A specific technology that the Government are keen to promote is anaerobic digestion (AD). This is an effective source of renewable energy that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by capturing methane from manures and slurries, as well as from the decomposition of other organic materials, such as food wastes. The UK Biomass Strategy and the Waste Strategy for England include details of how we will work with stakeholders to drive a faster growth in the use of AD by local authorities, businesses and farmers.
	The electricity derived from anaerobic digestion is eligible for market support through Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs). Alongside the Energy White Paper, the Government launched a consultation on differentiated support levels for different renewables technologies. Under these proposals, anaerobic digestion of agricultural wastes would receive additional support in the form of 2.0 ROCs/MWh. We are also examining the case and prospective mechanisms for long term support for the renewable heat sector and possible means to support the development of local infrastructure and supply chains.
	The treated liquid from anaerobic digestion plants, known as digestate, has the potential for use as a fertiliser and soil conditioner. The Environment Agency and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) aim to develop a standard and protocol for digestate by spring 2008. These would provide regulatory clarity and confidence in its recovery on land. WRAP will support the development of the market for digestate alongside its work to establish markets for waste-derived compost.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he plans to take in response to the June 2007 report of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle Tuberculosis.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 19 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 505-06W.

British Waterways Board

Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what extra work has been carried out by British Waterways as a result of the recent floods; and what estimate he has made of the extra costs of this work to British Waterways over the last two months.

Jonathan R Shaw: Additional work carried out by British Waterways during the recent floods included keeping gullies, weirs and spillways clear to ensure that flood waters could disperse more easily and lowering of water in some canals to enhance capacity to take flood water from some of the more severely affected rivers.
	British Waterways is still estimating the costs of repairs associated with the most recent flooding in the West Midlands and South West. Assessments of costs incurred in repairs, dredging and staff time for the floods that affected parts of Yorkshire and the East Midlands at the end of June currently stand at approximately £1.5 million.

Carbon Emissions: Electricity Generation

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will reconcile the carbon emission factor for grid electricity shown in the Carbon Dioxide Calculator, Public Trial Version, Data, Methodology and Assumptions Paper of June 2007 of 0.527 Kg carbon dioxide/KWh and that shown in the Government's Standard Assessment Procedure for Energy Rating of Dwellings 2005 edition of 0.422 Kg carbon dioxide/KWh.

Phil Woolas: There is no current intention to reconcile these two factors as they have been produced for different purposes.
	In general terms, the carbon emission factor for grid electricity will vary from minute to minute as the fuel mix (e.g. renewables, gas, oil, coal, nuclear) and availability varies. To derive a factor for the purpose of calculations, it is therefore necessary to determine a period over which to average.
	For the Act On CO2 calculator, the purpose is to get as accurate a measure as possible for  current CO2 emissions. The factor of 0.527 kg carbon dioxide/kWh is the most recently available figure based on 2005 data from the DTI DUKES electricity supply data for major power producers and CO2 emissions from the UK greenhouse gas inventory.
	For the Government's Standard Assessment Procedure for Energy Rating of Dwellings 2005 edition consistency of comparison over a longer period of time is important. A longer averaging period has been used. The factor of 0.422 kg carbon dioxide/kWh is based on the 2000 DTI projections for expected mix of electricity supply for the average of the Central Growth/Low Price and Central Growth/High Price scenarios between 2000 and 2010.

Carbon Emissions: Equipment

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make an estimate of the annual carbon emissions produced by  (a) lawnmowers,  (b) trimmers, edgers and bush cutters,  (c) leaf blowers and vacuums,  (d) chain saws of less than four brake horse power,  (e) shredders of less than five brake horse power, (f) lawn and garden tractors,  (g) wood splitters,  (h) snow blowers,  (i) wood chippers and tree stump grinders,  (j) other lawn and garden equipment and  (k) other small two and four stroke petrol engine fuelled machinery.

Phil Woolas: My Department does not currently have estimates for emissions attributable to the energy used by these types of products. The Market Transformation Programme covers the most significant products in terms of electricity and gas consumption and there are no plans to widen its coverage into these areas. Similarly, there are no estimates of the quantities of liquid fuels used by these types of products, as distinct from the major uses attributable to road transport.

Carbon Emissions: Manufacturing Industries

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on (i) the balance of carbon emissions of UK imports and exports and (ii) the effect on the carbon intensity of UK economic activity of relocating manufacturing processes overseas.

Phil Woolas: My Department is currently undertaking a research project considering the development of an "Embedded Carbon Emissions Indicator". This will enable more accurate measurement of embedded carbon emissions in supply chains outside the UK.
	The work is not yet complete and the potential application of an indicator is still to be considered. The data development needed for a full evaluation model would be substantial, as much of the necessary data do not exist in a compatible form, especially outside the European Union.

Carbon Emissions: Power Stations

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume of carbon dioxide was emitted in the UK by  (a) coal,  (b) oil,  (c) gas and  (d) nuclear power stations in 2005-06; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: In 2005, 173 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted from UK power stations. This accounted for 31 per cent. of the total carbon dioxide emissions in the UK in that year. A more detailed breakdown of emissions by fuel is included in the table as follows.
	
		
			  Fuel  CO 2  Emissions (Mt) 
			 Coal 114.12 
			 Oil 2.51 
			 Natural 54.40 
			 Gas — 
			 Other 2.04 
		
	
	There are no direct emissions of carbon dioxide from nuclear power stations.

Cereals

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the weight in tonnes was of the UK grain reserves in each of the last 12 quarters for which data are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: The amounts of grain held in storage in the UK under Regulation (EC) No. 824/2000 and stored by the Rural Payments Agency as a result of market intervention measures under the common agricultural policy are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Quarter ending  Grain Levels( 1) 
			  2004  
			 September 0 
			 December 4,064 
			  2005  
			 March 8,994 
			 June 16,022 
			 September 15,422 
			 December 17,440 
			  2006  
			 March 29,361 
			 June 30,308 
			 September 30,308 
			 December 27,969 
			  2007  
			 March 28 
			 June 0 
			 (1 )Rounded to nearest tonne.

Common Land: Devon

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to settle the outstanding annual payment due to the Holne Commoners for the year ending 31 August 2007 in accordance with the Environmentally Sensitive Agreement 1999.

Joan Ruddock: I can confirm that the outstanding annual payment due under the Holne Commoners' Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) agreement was processed on 9 July 2007.

Common Land: Devon

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has made to the European Commissioner responsible for environmentally sensitive schemes on the EU's financial obligations to commoners in Dartmoor National Park.

Joan Ruddock: None. The financial arrangements for the Rural Development Programme for the period 2007-13 were announced on 29 March 2007. This provides for £2.9 billion for agri-environment schemes, over double the expenditure spent in the last programme. This will enable all existing agri-environment agreements, including those for Dartmoor Commoners, to be maintained, and in addition allows for new agreements under Environmental Stewardship to be set up when the existing agreements expire.

Dartmoor National Park

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received on the growth of bracken in Dartmoor National Park and the lack of provision of access for ramblers and riders in accordance with the Dartmoor National Park Act 1983.

Jonathan R Shaw: My officials have informally discussed bracken encroachment on occasion with stakeholders, including Dartmoor commoners, along with other uplands land management issues. The Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 provides land management powers to deal with vegetation such as bracken. In addition, voluntary agri-environment schemes provide options for bracken control measures.

Departments: Air Conditioning

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department and its agencies on the hire of mobile air conditioning units in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The Department is unable to provide figures for the last five years but can provide figures for financial year 2005-06 and spend to date for financial year 2006-07.
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 2005-06 160,232.68 
			 2006-07 61,395.56 
		
	
	All air conditioning units used now conform to the following Government environmental standards:
	<12 kW—EU Energy Label class C or better
	>12 kW—coefficient of performance of 2.85, or better (EGA)
	Legislation prohibits the use of CFCs and HCFCs as refrigerants.

Departments: Aviation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department on  (a) first class and  (b) business flights in the last 12 months.

Jonathan R Shaw: From information held centrally, the core-Department spent  (a) £34,690 on first class and  (b) £1,100,623 on business flights between July 2006 and June 2007.
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.

Departments: Catering

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of  (a) beef,  (b) sheep meat,  (c) pork and  (d) dairy products used in his Department in the most recent period for which figures are available were imported products.

Jonathan R Shaw: My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told the House on 8 March 2007 that he would commission work to determine the proportion of publicly procured food which is British, and place the information in the Library of the House by late autumn 2007 or sooner. My right hon. Friend the current Secretary of State will advise the House when this information is deposited in the Library of the House.

Departments: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of people employed by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies are disabled.

Jonathan R Shaw: The latest available data on the disability status of civil servants in Departments and agencies are as at 30 September 2006 and are published in "Civil Service Statistics 2006" at Table P. This document is produced by the Office for National Statistics and can be accessed from the following website addresses:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=2899&Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=422
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/2006CivilServiceStatistics.pdf
	Declaration of a disability is voluntary.

Departments: Early Retirement

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of his staff took early retirement in the last five years; at what cost; what grades of staff took early retirement; and what percentage of each grade took early retirement.

Phil Woolas: In the current financial year to date and the previous four financial years, 577 DEFRA employees have left the Department and its agencies under early retirement arrangements. The total cost to the Department of these exits was £56.820 million, including provision made at the time of each departure to meet related liabilities in future years. The following table sets out the breakdown of leavers by grade. Due to the fluctuating population of each grade at any given time figures expressing the listed totals for each grade as percentages of the totals for the Department would be unreliable.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Administrative Assistant 72 
			 Administrative Officer 119 
			 Executive Officer 92 
			 Higher Executive Officer 73 
			 Senior Executive Officer 48 
			 Veterinary Officer 1 
			 Grade 7 62 
			 Grade 6 16 
			 Senior Civil Service 21 
			 Unidentifiable by Grade 73 
			 Total 577

Departments: Employment Agencies

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Department paid in fees to recruitment agencies for  (a) temporary and  (b) permanent staff in each year since 1997.

Phil Woolas: DEFRA came into being in June 2001.
	From information held centrally, the core-Department's VAT inclusive expenditure on personnel engaged through employment agencies since 2001 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Expenditure (£) 
			 2002-03 10,536,828 
			 2003-04 9,383,419 
			 2004-05 9,623,459 
			 2005-06 9,890,898 
			 2006-07 6,665,696 
		
	
	From information held centrally, the core-Department's VAT inclusive expenditure on recruitment consultants in each financial year commencing with 2002-03 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Expenditure (£) 
			 2002-03 684,795.34 
			 2003-04 1,106,361.08 
			 2004-05 447,712.00 
			 2005-06 999,207.53 
			 2006-07 1,418,359.43 
		
	
	Recruitment agency fees are captured within the expenditure figures shown but could be identified separately only at disproportionate cost. The fees vary from assignment to assignment dependent on the factors relevant to a particular engagement including but not limited to the nature and complexity of the task specification; the personal skills set of the individual required; the state of the labour market; and regional factors.
	Information for the financial year 2001-02 and expenditure by DEFRA's Executive Agencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Flint Bishop Solicitors

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have made payment to Flint Bishop solicitors since 1997.

Phil Woolas: No payments have been made by my Department or its Agencies to Flint Bishop solicitors since 1997.

Departments: Flowers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department on flowers in the last 12 months.

Jonathan R Shaw: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Legislation

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what legislative provisions introduced by his Department and its predecessor since 1997 have not yet been brought into force.

Jonathan R Shaw: My Department and its predecessors have been responsible for the introduction of 20 Acts since 1997 of which some provisions of the following Acts have still to be brought into force:
	Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
	Water Act 2003
	Commons Act 2006
	Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006
	Animal Welfare Act 2006

Departments: Legislation

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what legislative provisions introduced by his Department and its predecessors since 1997 have been repealed.

Jonathan R Shaw: My Department and its predecessors have been responsible for the introduction of 20 Acts since 1997. Some provisions of the following Acts have been repealed.
	Birds (Registration of Charges) Act 1997
	Plant Varieties Act 1997
	Animal Health (Amendment) Act 1998
	Water Industry Act 1999
	Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
	Water Act 2003
	Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005

Departments: Legislation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years have contained sunset clauses; and what plans he has for the future use of such clauses.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following Bill, introduced by my Department in the last five years, has contained sunset clauses:
	Water Bill (which became the Water Act 2003)
	The appropriateness of a sunset clause for the whole or part of any proposed legislation is considered on a case-by-case basis. It is also addressed when a regulatory impact assessment relating to legislation is being prepared.

Departments: Legislation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following Acts, introduced as Bills by my Department in the last five years have not contained sunset clauses.
	Animal Health Act 2002
	Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003
	Hunting Act 2004
	Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005
	Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006
	Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006
	Commons Act 2006
	Animal Welfare Act 2006
	The appropriateness of a sunset clause for the whole or part of any proposed legislation is considered on a case by case basis. It is also addressed when a regulatory impact assessment relating to legislation is being prepared.

Departments: Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many press officers are employed by his Department.

Jonathan R Shaw: The press office for core DEFRA consists of 23 full-time permanent press officer posts. Currently these posts are filled by 21 full-time permanent press officers and two temporary press officers.

Departments: Paper

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many reams of paper his Department  (a) used and  (b) recycled on average in weeks when Parliament was sitting in 2006-07.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 19 July 2007
	From information held centrally, between 1 November 2006 and 30 June 2007 the Department and its executive agencies used 129,028 reams of paper.
	In financial year 2006-07, the Department and its executive agencies recycled 859,881 kilograms of paper.

Departments: Postal Services

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume of correspondence his Department sent  (a) by Royal Mail and  (b) by other commercial delivery services in each of the last five years; and what the reasons were for the use of other commercial delivery services.

Jonathan R Shaw: From information held centrally, the core-Department has not used commercial delivery services other than Royal Mail.
	The core-Department has issued the following volumes of correspondence by Royal Mail since 2003.
	
		
			   Volume 
			 2003 4,848,627 
			 2004 9,668,341 
			 2005 9,909,773 
			 2006 9,749,716 
			 2007 to date 3,228,676

Departments: Press

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to which periodicals his Department subscribes.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department currently takes 10 newspaper titles and 171 periodical titles through its library services. I am placing a copy of the full title listing of these in the Library of the House of Commons. Newspaper and periodical requirements are reviewed annually to ensure their continuing relevance to the Department's changing business needs. As a result, some titles are cancelled and new ones subscribed to.

Departments: Press

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department on newspapers and magazines in the last 12 months.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA's expenditure on newspapers and periodicals through its library services for the financial year 2006-07 was £72,000.
	This figure excludes the spend on newspapers and periodicals by DEFRA local offices and the Department's executive agencies. These figures could be compiled only at a disproportionate cost.

Departments: Railways

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department on first class train tickets in the last 12 months.

Jonathan R Shaw: From information held centrally, the core-Department spent £1,242,196 as first class train tickets between July 2006 and June 2007.
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.

Departments: Recycling

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what provision is made within his Department for the recycling of  (a) paper,  (b) glass and  (c) plastics.

Jonathan R Shaw: h olding answer 26 July 2007
	 The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has a wide range of recycling provisions for paper, glass and plastics across its estate. Recycling of these materials is closely monitored and reported quarterly against the government's Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets.
	In addition recycling provision for each of these materials is audited, both internally and externally, through our Environmental Management System (EMS) programme.
	Latest figures (2006-07) confirm that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs recycled 860 tonnes of paper, 38 tonnes of glass and 16 tonnes of plastic.

Departments: Taxis

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department on taxis in the last 12 months.

Jonathan R Shaw: From information held centrally, the core-Department's VAT inclusive expenditure on taxis in the last 12 months was £194,840. Additionally, the core-Department spent £48,770 with the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA).
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department on staff away days in the last 12 months.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is not held centrally and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Visits Abroad

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many overseas visits were made by  (a) officials and  (b) Ministers within his responsibility, and at what cost, in each year since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA came into being in June 2001. From information held centrally, 199 tickets were booked for ministerial visits overseas between April 2006 and March 2007 at a cost of £112,774. Between April 2006 and June 2007, 6,906 tickets were booked for officials' visits overseas at a cost of £2,413,437.
	Management information for visits overseas by Ministers and officials prior to April 2006 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.

Departments: Westmoreland

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider locating or relocating additional departmental jobs to Westmorland and Lonsdale.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA has no plans to relocate additional departmental jobs to Westmorland and Lonsdale. Under the Lyons agenda, DEFRA has a target to relocate 390 posts out of the south-east and to accomplish this target without incurring significant costs, DEFRA's strategy is to use existing accommodation outside the south-east. DEFRA already has accommodation in York and Worcester where the majority of posts will be relocated.

Departments: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many jobs his Department and its agencies had  (a) in York and  (b) at the Central Science Laboratory site at Sand Hutton in each year since 2006.

Jonathan R Shaw: The number of staff employed in each year by DEFRA and its agencies in the locations requested was as follows:
	
		
			  Location  2006  2007 
			 City of York 582.66 592.65 
			 Sand Hutton 599.50 598.10 
			  Note: All figures are full-time equivalents.

Departments: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider  (a) relocating additional departmental jobs to and  (b) locating additional departmental jobs in York.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA has a target, under the Lyons agenda, to relocate 390 posts out of the south- east. As DEFRA already has existing accommodation in York, the strategy is to relocate over 50 per cent. of the posts to York. To date 96 posts have already been relocated with plans for a further 116 to be relocated by 2010.
	The Shared Services Directorate, which brings together the delivery of corporate services to core DEFRA and a number of DEFRA family organisations, was launched on 1 April 2007 and the majority of staff working for the SSD will be based in York. However, as the organisational structure has not yet been finalised it is difficult to give the exact staff numbers at this stage, these are expected to be finalised by September 2007.

Dog Control Orders

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what consultation process will be undertaken by local authorities prior to the introduction of dog control orders;
	(2)  how many dog control orders have been implemented;
	(3)  whether his Department has consulted KC Dog in relation to the maintenance of records relating to dog control orders.

Jonathan R Shaw: Although Dog Control Orders do not need confirmation by the Secretary of State, local authorities can only introduce them after completing the procedure prescribed in the Dog Control Order (Procedures) Regulations 2006. The procedure includes a period of local consultation and notification in the local press. This gives dog owners and local residents the opportunity to make representations to the local authority on the proposed controls.
	In our guidance to local authorities on this issue, we have strongly advised them to consider any representations prior to making Dog Control Orders. Authorities should also provide details of alternative areas in the vicinity where owners can exercise their dogs. Failure to take into consideration the views of the local community could lead to the Order being challenged in the courts.
	My Department does not hold central records of Dog Control Orders made, neither have we consulted with KC Dog, a group set up by the Kennel Club, on maintenance of such records.

Dog Control Orders

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what obligations local authorities are under to consult local access forums prior to the introduction of dog control orders.

Jonathan R Shaw: When a local authority is considering making a Dog Control Order that would affect open access land (land subject to Part 1 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000), it must consult the appropriate access authority, the relevant authority, Forestry Commission or Natural England and, if it is not also the access authority, the local access forum.
	There are already comprehensive dog control provisions which may be applied to access land including, if necessary, the banning of dogs. An authority should therefore pay particular attention to the views of these bodies in deciding whether any proposed order affecting open access land is necessary.
	Guidance on making Dog Control Orders under powers enacted under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 has been issued to all local authorities and is available from the DEFRA website.

Dogs: Syringomyelia

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps the Government are taking to eradicate syringomyelia among pedigree dogs;
	(2)  what representations he has received on the eradication of syringomyelia among pedigree dogs.

Jonathan R Shaw: My Department has received a number of representations on syringomyelia and other conditions which can afflict some pedigree dogs. My officials have recently initiated discussions with the Kennel Club to look at what practical steps have been taken, or could be taken, by breeders of pedigree dogs to eradicate or ameliorate conditions such as these. I have asked to be kept informed on the outcomes of discussions.

Environment Agency: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will review the decision not to increase the Environment Agency's budget before 2010-11.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR07) settlement is not expected from Her Majesty's Treasury until the autumn. No final decision has been made on the level of grant in aid to the Environment Agency over the next three financial years. However, the Secretary of State has confirmed that spending across Government on flood and coastal erosion risk management will increase to £800 million by 2010-11. Indicative allocations for flood and coastal erosion risk management over the next three financial years will be determined from an assessment of priorities across the Department following the CSR07 settlement.

Environment Agency: Meteorology

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Environment Agency was notified by the Meteorological Office of the warning of severe weather with regard to the weather events on and around 20 July; and what information was provided.

Jonathan R Shaw: On 18 July, the Met Office contacted the Environment Agency's National Flood Warning Duty Officer to provide early warning of a severe rainfall event expected between 19 and 21 July. A number of severe weather warnings were then issued by the Met Office during this period.
	Typically, these warnings provided information on the geographical areas and watercourses likely to be affected by the severe weather, the amount of rainfall expected, the timing of the anticipated severe weather event, and the Met Office's degree of confidence in the forecast.
	The following extracts are examples of the information provided by the Met Office in its severe weather warnings.
	
		
			  Date  Time  Event 
			 19 July 05.37 Event 0900 to 2000 on 19/7. Low confidence for Welsh Mountains, Welsh/Shropshire Hills, Severn Lowlands, Central, Staffs and High Peak, Trent Lowland, Avon/Soar Headwaters of 10mm or more in 1 hour, 15 or more in 6 hours, 20 mm or more in 12 hours. 
			 19 July 20.25 Event 0900 to 2000 on 19/7. High confidence for Welsh Mountains, Welsh/Shropshire Hills, Severn Lowlands, Central, Staffs and High Peak, Trent Lowland, Avon/Soar Headwaters of 15mm or more in 6 hours, 20 mm or more in 12 hours. 
			 20 July 16.56 Event 2100 on 19/7 to 0900 on 21/9. High confidence for Welsh Mountains, Welsh/Shropshire Hills, Severn Lowlands, Central, Staffs and High Peak, Trent Lowland, Avon/Soar Headwaters of 15mm or more in 6 hours, 20 mm or more in 12 hours.

Environment Agency: Meteorology

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the policy is of the Environment Agency on acting upon forecasts of bad weather received from the Meteorological Office.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Environment Agency has procedures in place to ensure that Regional Forecasting Duty Officers translate the Met Office heavy rainfall warnings into forecasts of river levels and flows.
	These are used to inform decisions on whether to issue flood warnings and/or carry out specific operational activities.

Eunomia: Research

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) research and  (b) consultancy work his Department has commissioned from Eunomia.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 15 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1364W, by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for DEFRA, my hon. Friend for Exeter (Mr. Bradshaw) to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman ).

Fisheries: Protection

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 23 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 648-50W, on fisheries: protection, why the Royal Navy Fishery Protection Service contracted days have been reduced to 700 up to a maximum of 750.

Jonathan R Shaw: As part of negotiations of the new agreement to apply from 1 April 2008, officials of the Marine and Fisheries Agency, Ministry of Defence and Royal Navy reviewed the operational requirements and budget implications for future patrol activity at sea. It was decided that the operational needs could be delivered through the provision of 700 patrol days for 2008-09, and with the agreement providing for a minimum of 600 and maximum of 750 patrol days per year, using the more modern and efficient River Class Patrol vessels. The existing arrangements are based on a mixture of River and Hunt Class vessels.

Flood Control: Agriculture

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of the recommendations of the August 1998 Agriculture Select Committee Report on flood and coastal defences (HC 707) have been implemented.

Jonathan R Shaw: All 22 of the recommendations taken forward in the Government Response to the 1998 Agriculture Select Committee Report have been implemented and in many instances additional actions completed.
	Copies of the full list of Government actions against recommendations have been placed in the House Library.

Flood Control: EU Grants and Loans

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what money has been received in the last 10 years from the European Union for  (a) flood defences and  (b) compensation to (i) agencies and (ii) individuals affected by flooding.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 26 July 2007
	 The Environment Agency (EA) have received £5.9 million in total in relation to flood risk management work (including flood defences) over the last 10 years from the European Union (EU) and will continue to look at the possibility of applications to the EU for flood defence.
	Details of the projects, the amount of funding received and the European fund it came from are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Project name  Project topic  Amount received by Environment Agency in EU grant/£( 1)  Source of EU funding 
			 ACTIF Achieving technological innovation in flood forecasting (ACTIF) 35,000 Framework Programme for Research and Development (DG Research) 
			 FRaME (Alkborough) Engineering and public consultation work to produce multiple-benefit wetland area (i.e. has flood benefits but also recreation and wildlife benefits and others) 645,000 Interreg III (DG Regio) 
			 FLOWS Looks at risk-based planning and development control in low-lying zones at risk of flooding. 70,000 Interreg III (DG Regio) 
			 COMRISK Flood defence planning in coastal lowlands 103,000 Interreg III (DG Regio) 
			 COMCOAST Develop and demonstrate an innovative solutions for flood risk management in coastal areas in the East of England 100,000 Interreg III (DG Regio) 
			 Floodscape Flood risk management engineering work and public participation work on the River Thames 400,000 Interreg III (DG Regio) 
			 New Forest LIFE Flood risk management through re-shaping streams and rivers in the New Forest 300,000 LIFE (DG Environment) 
			 Llandovery Flood Alleviation Scheme Creating a flood alleviation scheme 66,000 Objective 1 European Regional Development Fund (2000-06) (DG Regio) 
			 Flood Risk Management Wales A large project comprising a number of elements. Focused on flood defence works 2,718,000 Objective 1 European Regional Development Fund (2000-06) (DG Regio) 
			 Flood Forecasting Wales Implementing flood forecasting. 359,000 Objective 1 European Regional Development Fund (2000-06) (DG Regio) 
			 Flood Defence Improvements Scheme Bungay Flood defence work. 1,100,000 Objective 2 European Regional Development Fund (2000-06) (DG Regio) 
			 Total  5,896,000  
			 (1 )Grant received in euro but amount converted to sterling for reporting here. The money was received in the form of EU funding grants awarded to projects that the EA were involved in either as a partner or a lead partner. The EA have only included here the amount of ED funding received by the Environment Agency for their own work. 
		
	
	I am not aware of any other funding applied for, or received from the European Union for flood defences, or to compensate those affected by flooding.

Flood Control: EU Grants and Loans

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has made an application to the European Solidarity Fund for funding for areas of England affected by recent flooding.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	No such application has yet been made as we are currently collecting all the information necessary for us to assess the full financial effect of the damage caused by the June and July floods before deciding whether such an application could meet the strict criteria laid down for mobilising the Fund.

Flood Control: Expenditure

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Environment Agency spent on  (a) capital expenditure and  (b) expenditure on maintenance in relation to flood defence in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The figures reflect Environment Agency spend on flood risk management funded by DEFRA and exclude spend funded from other sources (e.g. levies on local authorities, beneficiary contributions, charges). Capital figures reflect spend on new and improved capital measures to reduce flood risk, including on flood warning infrastructure. Maintenance figures reflect spend on maintenance of existing assets. Other Flood Risk Management (FRM) spend covers the cost of delivering flood warning services, flood mapping, development control, data management such as the National Flood and Coastal Defence Database, regional flood defence committees and other associated costs such as investment in and provision of information systems (IS), accommodation and overheads.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Capital 151 202 162 
			 Maintenance 162 163 176 
			 Other FRM Spend 61.9 152.9 115 
		
	
	The additional spend in 2005-06 was largely funded from financial balances. These had been held by Regional Flood Defence Committees to meet the cost of unforeseen events such as severe flooding, as at the time the Agency's spend on flood risk management was largely funded from levies on local authorities. Since 2004, this spend has primarily been funded by DEFRA and such balances are no longer maintained.
	The Environment Agency is the principal operating authority with responsibility for flood risk management in England. However, Government-funded works are also carried out by local authorities and, in areas with special drainage needs, internal drainage boards. The Agency incurs spend on other activities related to flood risk management such as operational costs, advising on plans for new development.

Flood Control: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will instigate an immediate review of the Environment Agency's planned expenditure on  (a) capital projects and  (b) regular maintenance in respect of flood defence in each of the next three years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Environment Agency produces annual Medium Term Plans setting out their proposed flood risk management capital schemes for the following five years. This year's exercise is due to be completed in the autumn and will be reviewed by the Department. It will inform targets and funding allocations for the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR07) period (2008-09 to 2010-11).
	The Environment Agency currently develop a maintenance programme each year based on their assessment of the condition of its flood defences. Outcome Measures for flood risk management have recently been defined and it is anticipated that these will be used to set targets progressively during the CSR07 period, starting with the capital programme in 2008-09 and extending to maintenance and other flood risk management activities from 2009-10. This should enable a direct comparison of, and more efficient allocation between, capital and maintenance works.

Flood Control: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by what mechanism internal drainage boards are funded by the public purse.

Jonathan R Shaw: The legislative framework for internal drainage board (IDB) funding is the Land Drainage Act 1991. Under the Act, there are three mechanisms by which IDBs can receive public funding to support their flood risk management and associated activities.
	IDBs may impose special levies on local authorities (district and unitary authorities) to fund their work in the district. This is not permissive (or discretionary) expenditure and the levies must be paid. Relevant councils do sit on the IDBs and while these members are not appointed to represent local authority interests on the IDB, they are in a position to have some influence on the sums raised through special levies.
	All properties within a drainage district are deemed to derive benefit from the activities of an IDB. Every property is therefore subject to a drainage rate paid annually to the Board.
	For the purposes of rating, properties are divided into (a) agricultural land and buildings and (b) other land (such as domestic houses, factories, shops etc). Occupiers of all "other land" pay council tax or non-domestic rates to the local council who then are charged by the Board under the special levy arrangements above. The Board, therefore, only imposes drainage rates direct on agricultural land and buildings.
	The basis of this is that each property has been allotted an "annual value" which were last revised in the early 1990s. The annual value is an amount equal to the yearly rent, or the rent that might be reasonably expected if let on a tenancy from year to year commencing 1 April 1988.
	The annual value remains the same from year to year. Each year the Board lays a rate "in the £" to meet its estimated expenditure. This is multiplied by the annual value to produce the amount of drainage rate due on each assessment. A breakdown of the rate in the £ is shown on the reverse of the demand note to show how money is spent.
	DEFRA funds individual capital improvement projects promoted by IDBs, subject to relevant economic, social, environmental and prioritisation criteria.

Flood Control: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much public funding was allocated to the internal drainage boards in each year since 1997-98.

Phil Woolas: The following table shows details of public funding allocated to internal drainage boards (IDBs) in each year from 1999-2000. Figures prior to this year are not held centrally by DEFRA. Please note that not all income is included in the 2005-06 figure.
	
		
			  Income received by internal drainage boards 
			  £ million 
			   Agricultural drainage rates( 1)  Special levies( 2)  EA cont( 3)  Devp cont( 4)  Other beneficiary contributions( 5)  Government grant( 6)  Loans received( 7)  Other( 8)  Total 
			 1999-2000 11.3 18.8 2.1 — 0.8 0.5 0.6 6.4 40.5 
			 2000-01 11.1 19.5 2.0 1.1 0.3 0.3 0.2 7.5 42.0 
			 2001-01 11.7 20.2 2.3 1.3 0.2 2.0 0.6 6.7 45.0 
			 2002-03 12.4 21.3 2.6 1.4 0.8 2.0 0.5 6.8 47.8 
			 2003-04 12.8 22.1 2.5 1.9 0.2 1.3 1.0 5.2 47.0 
			 2004-05 13.4 23.7 2.5 2.1 0.8 1.1 1.4 6.4 51.5 
			 2005-06 13.4 24.7 2.8 — — — — — 40.9 
			 (1) Agricultural drainage rates collected by the IDB from agricultural land and buildings within the drainage district. (2) Special levies collected by the IDB—local authorities pay special levies to internal drainage boards which fall entirely or partly within their boundaries to take account of works the boards do in relation to flood risk management, for example in urban areas. (3) Contributions from the Environment Agency. (4) Contributions from developers. (5) Contributions from other beneficiaries. (6) Government grant—DEFRA funds individual capital improvement projects promoted by IDBs subject to relevant economic, social, environmental and prioritisation criteria. (7) Loans raised from the public works loans board to fund balance of grant costs etc. (8) All other income (including contributions from local authorities, income from rechargeable works undertaken for others, and interests received on deposits).  Note: In financial year 2005-06, not all information on income and expenditure was collected centrally by DEFRA. As such the figure represented in the total column does not equal all income received by IDBs in that financial year.

Flood Control: Finance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) capital and  (b) resource departmental expenditure limit for flood defence grant in aid was in each year since 1997 for (i) England and (ii) each region; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) has only applied to the Environment Agency since 2004 when flood risk funding was provided directly rather than through the local authority levy.
	The DEL for Flood Defence Grant-in-Aid (FDGIA) is provided to the Agency and is not split across regions. The Environment Agency seeks to ensure that funding is moved flexibly across regions within the DEL total to ensure the best value for spend.
	The following table shows the figures for the Environment Agency FDGIA from 2004 to 2008.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 (Budget) 
			 Capital 189 189 195 189 
			 Revenue 166.6 261.3 223.9 246.9 
			 Total 355.6 450.3 418.9 435.9 
		
	
	The Agency also receives other income from charges, precepts, contributions and residual local levies. In addition to the FDGIA made available to the Environment Agency, DEFRA also provides capital grants to local authorities and Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs).
	The table shows DEL from 1997 to 2008.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1997-98 n/a 
			 1998-99 n/a 
			 1999-2000 n/a 
			 2001-02 n/a 
			 2002-03 48.7 
			 2003-04 49 
			 2004-05 45.8 
			 2005-06 73.4 
			 2006-07 84.4 
			 2007-08 67.3 
		
	
	 2007-08 (Budget)
	Local authorities and IDBs receive revenue funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government, which contributes to the cost of operation. They also receive other income from charges, contributions and levies.

Flood Control: South West Region

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many zones at risk of flooding have been highlighted by the Environment Agency in  (a) Poole and  (b) the south west region.

Phil Woolas: The Environment Agency have flood warning areas, each of which relates to a discrete area at risk that receives the flood watch, flood warning and severe flood warning services.
	Within the south west region of the Agency, there is one tidal flood warning area specifically for Poole. There are 202 fluvial and 37 tidal flood warning areas for the whole region, a total of 239 risk zones.

Flood Control: Tewkesbury

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on the number of sandbags which are  (a) available and  (b) in position for use when flooding occurs in Tewkesbury constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have not had focused discussions on this specific aspect of the flooding that occurred in Gloucestershire.
	The Environment Agency has produced guidance on the use of sandbags with the Local Government Association. Sandbags must only be seen as an emergency response. There are more robust solutions that resist flooding of individual domestic properties such as flood-boards and airbrick covers.
	I understand from the Environment Agency that approximately 2,500 sandbags were available in Tewkesbury and all were deployed.

Floods: Gloucestershire

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what extra help has been supplied by agencies stationed outside Gloucestershire to that county during the recent flooding; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Mutual aid arrangements exist between the different areas of each organisation such as local authorities and the police so that resources can be switched to wherever they are most needed. In addition, procedures are also in place for central resources to be provided on request by local emergency responders. This can include assistance from the armed services, as for example we have seen in Gloucester in recent days.
	Additional help for Gloucestershire during the recent flooding has also, for example, included the provision of a number of high volume pumps, brought into the area to assist in the pumping out of flood water.

Floods: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what flood prevention measures were put into place in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Environment Agency is the principal authority with responsibility for flood risk management in England, although local authorities also carry out works on less critical watercourses. The following tables show capital improvement works carried out by the agency only and exclude maintenance and operational work.
	 1. Projects to renew or improve fluvial (non-tidal) defences on northern and southern tributaries of the River Thames.
	
		
			  1.1 North East Thames 
			   Flood Prevention Renewals  Location  London Borough  Cost (£) 
			 2004-05 Prince Edward Playing Field Flood storage area on the Edgware Brook, Cannons Park Harrow 1,200,000 
			 2004-05 Sixgates Bank and retaining walls repair works on the River Roding. Barking Barking and Dagenham. 800,000 
			 2005-06 Priory Park Increase size of Flood Storage Reservoir. Stanmore Harrow 800,000 
			 2005-06 Stonywood lake FSA Reconstruction of dam and increase size of Flood Storage Area on the Deans Brook Mill Hill Barnet 1,400,000 
			 2005-06 River Lee FRC Walthamstow Major repair of existing channel of the River Lee Flood Relief channel Walthamstow Walthamstow 1,200,000 
			 2005-06 Pymmes Brook Culvert. Removal of a culvert which presented a threat to blocking the Pymmes Brook Edmonton Enfield 1,300,000 
			 2004-05 Low Hall Trash Screen. Reconstruction of trash screen Walthamstow Walthamstow 100,000 
			 2004-05 Field End Road Trash Screen Reconstruction of trash Screen Eastcote Hillingdon 100,000 
			 2005-06 Wealdstone Brook Bank works Repair to banks to prevent collapse and blockage of the Wealdstone Brook Kenton Harrow 100,000 
			 2004-06 Mayes Brook Sluices Reconstruction of the Sluice gate and control structure for the flood storage area Barking Barking and Dagenham 900,000 
			 2005-06 River Pinn Diversion Removal of culvert, on the river Pinn. Hatch End Harrow 200,000 
			 2004-05 2006-07 Washlands Flood Storage Reservoir Reconstruction of the flood storage reservoir and increase in capacity Dagenham Barking and Dagenham 4,400,000 
			 Total12,500,000 
		
	
	
		
			  1.2 South East Thames 
			   Flood Prevention Renewals  Location  London Borough  Cost (£) 
			 2002-07 River Quaggy Flood Alleviation Scheme River Quaggy Greenwich and Lewisham 18,000,000 
			 2007-08 Refurbishment of three trash screen sites on the Beverley Brook Ashlone Warf, Putney, Richmond Park, and New Maiden Richmond and Merton 150,000 
			 2007-08 Refurbishment of EA Trash screen -Upper Elmers End Beckenham, St James Stream Bromley 15,000 
			 2007-08 Refurbishment of EA Trash Screen Kyd Brook Bromley 51,000 
			 2007-08 Refurbishment of EA Trash Screen Ravensbourne Bromley 34,000 
			 2005-07 Channel reprofiling and increased flood storage Hogsmill near A240 RB Kingston upon Thames 120,000 
			 2006-07 Channel reprofiling, creation of flood banks and increased flood storage Ladywell Fields Lewisham Lewisham 100,000 
			 2002-04 Channel reprofiling, creation of flood banks, increased flood storage and flood warning improvements Chinbrook Meadows Lewisham 250,000 
			 2002 Channel reprofiling and increased flood storage Shaftesbury Park London borough of Bromley 90,000 
			 2002-03 Channel reprofiling and increased flood storage Norman Park London borough of Bromley 180,000 
			 2005-07 Channel reprofiling, creation of flood banks, increased flood storage, construction of new trash screen and flood warning improvements Upstream of Hayes Lane Bromley London borough of Bromley 450,000 
			 2003-06 Channel reprofiling and increased flood storage Crayford Marshes Erith London borough of Bexley 250,000 
			 2005-06 Raising of flood defences, improvements in capacity of structure and flood warning improvements Flood Siphon on River Graveney at Colliers Wood London borough of Merton 900,000 
			 2004-05 Banks stabilisation and weir removal. River Wandle outside Garrett Lane Depot London borough's of Merton and Wandsworth 120,000 
			 Total20,710,000 
		
	
	 2. Projects to renew or improve Thames Tidal defences along the northern and southern banks of the River Thames.
	
		
			   Flood Prevention Renewals  Location  London Borough  Cost (£) 
			 2002-03 Strengthening and renewal of masonry flood defence wall (tidal) Strand on the Green Hounslow 782,000 
			 2004-05 Renewal of a deficient flood defence wall (tidal) Upstream of Barking Barrier Barking and Dagenham 92,000 
			 2005-06 Renewal of tidal flood defence wall New England Wharf Barking and Dagenham 1,300,00 
			 2005-06 Renewal of tidal flood defence wall Frogmore Estate Barking and Dagenham 425,000 
			 2005-06 Renewal of tidal flood defence wall Anchor Bay Wharf Bexley 770,000 
			 2006-07 Renewal of tidal flood defence wall Old British Gas Site Barking and Dagenham 35,000 
			 2006-07 Renewal of masonry flood defence wall (tidal) Four Gates Sluice Barking and Dagenham 460,000 
			 2006-07 Renewal of tidal flood defence earth embankments Dartford Creek Frontages Bexley 2,600,000 
			 2006-07 Renewal of tidal flood defence steel sheet pile wall Marley Water Proofing Frontages Barking and Dagenham 600,000 
			 2007-08 Renewal of tidal flood defence steel sheet pile wall Marley Water Proofing Frontages Barking and Dagenham 700,000 
			 2007-08 Renewal of tidal flood defence earth embankments Dartford Creek Frontages Bexley 2,500,000 
			 2007-08 Renewal of tidal flood defence walls Isle of Dogs Frontages Tower Hamlets 1,000,000 
			 Total11,264,000

Floods: Helicopters

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many helicopters are available to the Environment Agency to implement emergency flood protection; and what evaluation he has made of the adequacy of these aircraft for such transportation work.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Environment Agency is able to call upon military assistance during a crisis where there are lives at risk. The availability of these assets is dependent on military deployment at the time and is managed through Royal Air Force Kinloss.
	Helicopters would be used only when land-based emergency flood protection measures cannot be undertaken safely. The Ministry of Defence determines the adequacy of these aircraft for transportation of sandbags and other materials.

Floods: Publicity

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what methods the Environment Agency uses to alert householders without access to the internet to flood warnings; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Environment Agency uses a number of methods to alert householders. Floodline Warnings Direct alerts householders via an automated message system using phone, mobile, and pagers to send voice messages, faxes and SMS (Short Message Service). Sirens, loudhailers and media broadcasts are also used.
	In addition, police officers and other officials have provided 'door to door' information to significant numbers of people throughout the period of flooding in a heroic and successful exercise. These warnings have been undertaken as a result of the civil resilience planning under the auspices of the 2004 Civil Contingencies Act, which requires all Category 1 responders to maintain arrangements to warn the public, and to provide information and advice to the public, if an emergency is likely to occur or has occurred.

Floods: Tewkesbury

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of households in Tewkesbury constituency which are without  (a) water and  (b) electricity as a result of the recent floods; when he expects those supplies to be restored; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following answer is current at 11:00 on Thursday, 26 July.
	Flooding has rendered the Mythe water treatment works inoperable. Current estimates are that 140,000 premises are currently without tap water across the region and that it could take between seven and 14 days to restore services. It is estimated that 10,000 of these premises are in the Tewkesbury area.
	A temporary solution has been devised by Severn Trent Water which will allow some water from the Strensham treatment works to be directed to the piped system serving Tewkesbury. Pumping is planned to start on 26 July and should build up to 20 megalitres a day. However, this supply will be intermittent and discoloured and customers will be advised that it should not be used for drinking. Customers that do get this water should continue to rely upon bottled water and, after boiling, water from bowsers for drinking purposes.
	The priority is to increase the supply of drinking water. Across the region, over 900 water bowsers and tanks have been deployed. More are being obtained and the number is expected to increase to 1,800. Some 75 road tankers are filling the bowsers every day and more have been sourced. Bottled water distribution points have been set up and up to 5 million litres of water are being provided every day. A list of vulnerable people and isolated communities has been collated.
	We understand few households are now lacking power. Emergency measures to prevent flooding of Walham electricity switching station have so far been successful in ensuring continued operation of this major component of the power supply system.

Floods: Warnings

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Environment Agency took recently to warn the public about possible flooding; when the flood warnings were issued; what other steps the Environment Agency took in response to the Meteorological Office warning and information; and when these steps were taken.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Environment Agency has worked closely with the Met Office, receiving a number of flood specific weather and rainfall warnings, which helped to inform the agency's flood forecasting systems. In total, the Met Office issued 214 flood warnings, including 19 severe flood warnings, from 18 July.
	In response to this, the Environment Agency issued warnings to an estimated 145,000 people via its free Floodline Warnings Direct system. This provides information to the public, the emergency services, local authorities, and the media via email, telephone, mobile, fax or pager.

Forestry: Flood Control

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effects of large-scale tree felling on the risk of flooding in flood-prone areas.

Phil Woolas: Flood risk management is a devolved responsibility and this answer relates to England only. Changes in the way land is used can impact on the speed and volume of flood water run-off. However, deforestation is not a significant factor increasing flood risk in England.
	There has been research on the impacts of woodlands and forestry on flood run-off. Mature forests can reduce the rate of run-off. New plantations can in fact increase it though this can depend on the nature of any drainage infrastructure installed in connection with them. Evidence to date suggests that, while there can be a significant impact on smaller flood events at the local scale, effects are likely to be much less for more extreme floods at the wider catchment level.
	The developing cross-Government Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy, "Making Space for Water", promotes a whole-catchment approach to flood alleviation, drawing on opportunities provided by rural land use and land management practices.

Hill Farming: Closures

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many hill farms went out of business in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 26 July 2007
	 Information on the number of holdings is collected in the annual June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture. No information is collected on the number of holdings leaving the business. The figures in the table show the number of registered holdings in England in less favoured areas at June each year. These figures show net change only and therefore include gains as well as losses. The Survey does not specifically identify a category of "hill farms" but the figures for less favoured areas include this sector.
	
		
			   Holdings in severely disadvantaged areas  Holdings in disadvantaged areas  Total holdings in less favoured areas  Total holdings 
			 2002 16,771 8,803 25,574 187,871 
			 2003 16,830 7,632 24,462 190,687 
			 2004 16,456 7,563 24,019 192,824 
			 2005 16,749 8,196 24,945 195,908 
			 2006 16,244 15,257 31,501 200,381 
			  Notes: 1. All holdings are allocated one grid reference only, farm boundaries are not mapped. All land on a holding is allocated to this single gird reference point although it is possible that the whole holding may not fall wholly inside or outside the less favoured area. 2. Due to a change in classification procedures for holdings in less favoured areas 2006 data are not directly comparable with earlier years. 3. The introduction of the Single Payment Scheme in 2005 has led to an increase in the number of registered holdings. These registered holdings need not necessarily have agricultural production but should meet the definition of having land in "good agricultural and environmental condition"  Source:  June Agriculture Survey

Landfill: Expenditure

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the expenditure by local authorities on the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme on expenditure on other areas of sustainable waste management;
	(2)  how much revenue was received from each local authority under the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme in each year since the scheme has been operational.

Joan Ruddock: The Landfill Allowances Trading Scheme (LATS) is not a revenue raising measure. It is a flexible scheme intended to ensure that England meets, as cost effectively as possible, its share of the national limits in the European Union Landfill Directive on landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste.
	LATS encourages local authorities with the lowest diversion costs, to landfill less than their allowances permit and sell the surplus to authorities that face higher costs of diversion. Conversely, authorities with higher costs of diversion may prefer to meet their obligations under the scheme by buying allowances at a lower cost than actually undertaking the diversion themselves.
	The Government takes account of all the costs of waste management when allocating local government funding. It is the responsibility of each individual local authority to plan its own expenditure. No assessment has been undertaken on the effect of local authority compliance with LATS obligations on other areas of sustainable waste management.
	To date no waste disposal authorities have been issued with financial penalties, as all have met their obligations under the scheme.

Livestock: MRSA

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1381W, on livestock: MRSA, what testing has been carried out to detect MRSA in farm animals in the last 12 months; and what methodology was employed for the testing.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA has initiated a study undertaken by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency to test  Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus) isolates obtained from bovine clinical submissions for methicillin-resistant  S. aureus (MRSA). This project commenced in autumn 2006.
	The methodology employed in the study involves determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration of oxacillin using the agar dilution method of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All isolates are also examined using the disc diffusion method of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy and a 10 microgram cefoxitin disc. Two different susceptibility testing methods are therefore used to check for the presence of methicillin resistance in the isolates.
	Additionally, all isolates are also examined using a molecular technique (polymerase chain reaction) for the presence of the mecA gene (the gene which confers resistance to methicillin in MRSA).
	Finally, a latex agglutination test is used to check for the altered penicillin binding protein of MRSA in any isolates which are not susceptible or which possess the mecA gene.
	The latest available figures are that 658 bovine S. aureus isolates from cases of clinical disease in cattle in England and Wales (mainly cases of mastitis for which milk samples are collected) have been tested and no MRSA isolates have been detected.

Livestock: Transport

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the ability of un-weaned calves to drink from devices installed in livestock vehicles for that purpose; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what devices for supplying liquid to un-weaned calves are in use on livestock vehicles to enable them to be given liquid on board the vehicle after nine hours travel; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA has funded many research projects into the welfare aspects of animal transportation. Of these, there has been one specific project assessing the devices installed in vehicles to provide liquid to un-weaned calves. This study confirmed that calves can use mechanical systems to satisfy their fluid requirements, but may need time to become familiar with such systems.
	All member states are required to approve vehicles for long journeys. This approval involves an assessment of the vehicle equipment for providing water to animals. In the UK, there is a detailed checklist to ensure an inspector systematically assesses and thoroughly checks the vehicle and equipment, including the means of provision of feed and water.
	Vehicles must be equipped with a water supply from which the attendant can provide water instantly when needed. Watering devices must be of suitable design, be positioned for access to water by each animal, and carry a water supply of a capacity 1.5 per cent. of that of the maximum payload. Attendants must be able to check the water level of the tank, and drain and clean it after the journey.
	There are a wide range of devices used on livestock vehicles to provide liquid to un-weaned calves. At a basic level there are systems with buckets or bowls which can be fixed at a suitable height to ensure they are not overturned. Troughs are used on some vehicles, which are either fixed in place or fitted temporarily at the appropriate rest period. There are also more elaborate systems with nipple drinkers and other variations which allow calves to obtain liquid.
	No particular mode of delivery is specified in Regulation 1/2005EC. It does, however, require that water and feed be presented in a way that minimises contamination and that due regard is paid to the need of animals to become accustomed to the mode of feeding and watering.
	Animal Health assesses vehicles at markets, during roadside checks, at ports and at supervised loadings. If suitable equipment is not carried on a vehicle the journey can be prevented by the service of a notice requiring the correction of the problem, or additional requirements before the journey is started. The type and number of water delivery mechanisms, their height and location within the vehicle, and the calves' familiarity with them are assessed.
	Animal Health also issues and approves journey logs as required by Regulation 1/2005EC and ensures that any failure to comply with the welfare aspects of the legislation are investigated. When appropriate, enforcement action is considered, together with notification of the non-compliance to the appropriate member state if the transporter is registered outside Great Britain.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Minister of State will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 15 June 2007, in reply to DEFRA Reference: MC24643/JH.

Phil Woolas: I apologise for the delay. A reply was sent on 10 July 2007.

Meteorology: Manpower

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for  (a) Innovation, Universities and Skills and  (b) Defence on the number of meteorologists which will be required over the next 20 years.

Phil Woolas: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has had no discussions with the Secretary of State for  (a) Innovation, Universities and Skills or  (b) Defence.

Nanotechnology

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many submissions the Government have received from  (a) industry and  (b) academia under its voluntary reporting scheme for engineered nanoscale materials since its launch in September; what steps the Department is taking to encourage submissions under the Voluntary Reporting Scheme; and what other steps the Government are taking to improve understanding of where nanoscale materials are being used or could be used in the future;
	(2)  when the Government plans to review the merits of the Voluntary Reporting Scheme for engineered nanoscale materials; and what the timescale is for such a review.

Phil Woolas: My Department launched the UK Voluntary Reporting Scheme for engineered nanoscale materials in September 2006. To date (July 2007) we have received a total of nine submissions, seven from industry and two from academia.
	We have been working with a variety of stakeholders to encourage further awareness and uptake of the Scheme. Regular updates on the Scheme are presented to the Nanotechnologies Stakeholder Forum which meets quarterly; the Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) and the European Nanotechnology Trade Alliance (ENTA) have raised the Scheme with their members and have offered assistance with completion of the paperwork; and we are addressing the research community via the Research Councils.
	We have also been seeking additional advice on ways in which we may improve participation. The UK Advisory Committee for Hazardous substances (ACHS) recently reviewed the Scheme and made suggestions for clarifying the guidance for participants, particularly in defining how the data submitted will be used and what information might be relevant. My Officials will take these recommendations forward. We are also working with international partners, including members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials to share experiences of implementation of similar Schemes.
	The Voluntary Reporting Scheme is intended to operate for two years. Therefore my Department will undertake a thorough review of the process in September 2008.

Nanotechnology

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Government will respond to the Council for Science and Technology review of the Government's nanotechnologies policies.

Phil Woolas: The Government responded to the Council for Science and Technology's review of its progress on nanotechnologies policies on 17 May 2007.

Nanotechnology

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will increase the funding provided for research into the environmental and health impacts of nanotechnology.

Phil Woolas: Funding for research into potential Environment, Health and Safety impacts of Nanomaterials is co-ordinated across Government Departments, their Agencies and the Research Councils through the Nanotechnology Research Coordination Group. Direct funding from Departments up to the end of 2006 amounted to around £13 million. This was supported by responsive mode funding through the Research Councils' Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration on Nanotechnology of £19.8 million between 2002 and 2007.
	At this stage there are no plans to increase funding levels however, in order to maximise the use of available funding, my Department is working to achieve greater cooperation and collaboration between the above funding bodies and will seek more joint working with the nanotechnologies industries. DEFRA is working closely with the Research Councils to influence more funding in 'directed mode', in an approach similar to that adopted by the DEFRA co-funded Environmental Nanoscience Initiative and we will be working with the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills' Technology Strategy Board and National Measurement Systems Programme to identify further opportunities. In this way we would seek to encourage the development and safe use of nanotechnologies in universities and the nanotechnologies industries.

National Fruit Collection

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received from the Friends of Brogdale Horticultural Trust on the future of the National Fruit Collection; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: A number of letters have been received from the Friends of Brogdale. These representations support retaining the collections at Brogdale.

Office of Climate Change: Manpower

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff are employed by the Office of Climate Change, broken down by salary band; and what the staff equivalent or annual cost is of  (a) employment agency temporary staff,  (b) consultants and  (c) contractors being employed by that office.

Phil Woolas: There are 29.6 full-time equivalent staff currently in post. It is our policy not to comment on staff grades where individuals could be identified.
	As at 30 June 2007, the Office of Climate Change is employing three temporary staff. It has also employed two consultants on a part-time basis over the past four months. No contractors have been employed.

Office of Climate Change: Publications

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the title is of documents produced by the Office of Climate Change for  (a) publication,  (b) Ministers and  (c) other purposes.

Phil Woolas: The Office of Climate Change (OCC) published the Draft Climate Change Bill in March 2007 (Cm 7040). This was accompanied by "A brief summary of the scientific case for action", following the OCC's audit of UK analysis on climate change. This document was placed in the House Libraries.
	As part of its role in providing internal advice to Ministers, the OCC produces various documents and reports. The OCC is in the process of setting up a website where appropriate documentation will be published.

Recycling: Schools

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding has been allocated for school recycling projects in each London borough in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: No specific funding has been provided by my Department for school recycling projects in London. If recycling services are provided to schools, these would be funded directly by the local authority.
	However, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, which is funded by DEFRA, is developing a programme of support for schools as part of its 'Recycle Now' campaign aimed at helping them minimise, reuse, recycle and compost their waste.
	DEFRA also provides financial support for the operation of Eco-Schools, an international programme developed by the Foundation of Environmental Education (FEE) and managed in England by Environmental Campaigns (ENCAMS). Eco-Schools promotes environmental awareness around nine main themes, one of which is waste minimisation and recycling. DEFRA will be providing a total of £65,000 for Eco-schools in 2007-08. £100,000 is also provided from non-grant sources, mainly from other sponsorship.

Shellfish: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 May 2007,  Official Report, column 383W, on shellfish: Colchester, what progress has been made in determining the application for a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) for the Colchester Native Oyster; when he expects to announce the issuing of a PGI; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Following a constructive meeting in May between officials and representatives of the applicant group, an announcement regarding the next stage of this process was expected to be made in June.
	However, officials are still waiting for further information from the applicant, including confirmation of the exact geographical area for the production of this product.

Squirrels

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take action against the organisation www.squirrels.info, which suggests on its website moving grey squirrels about the country contrary to law.

Joan Ruddock: The website www.squirrels.info was brought to the attention of Natural England some months ago. Natural England sent an e-mail to the website on 23 March 2007 to make them aware of their legal responsibilities under the Destructive Imported Animals Act 1932 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended). They have since responded, indicating that they no longer 'take in' squirrels and apologised for giving an incorrect impression through their outdated website. A further e-mail has been sent by Natural England to the website asking for clarification as it is not completely clear that they no longer do so. The licensing application process which can allow the legal captivity of grey squirrels has been explained to them.
	DEFRA and Natural England do not have the power to take action, or indeed prosecute anyone regarding the possible failure to apply for licences to possess and release grey squirrels. This is the responsibility of the police, who are the primary enforcement agency of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Natural England have already referred this matter to the Wildlife Crime Officer (WCO) of Hampshire police.

Squirrels

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he plans to take to ensure that his Department's regional officers in England are all operating the same policy on red squirrel protection.

Joan Ruddock: The England Squirrel Forum has responsibility for co-ordinating the delivery of those parts of the Red Squirrel Species Action Plan (RSSAP) that relate to England. The forum is made up of representatives from conservation bodies, woodland management organisations and woodland owners and is chaired by the Forestry Commission.
	The RSSAP is being implemented through a broad partnership of Government, statutory conservation agencies and the private and voluntary sectors.
	Implementation of the RSSAP is not the same in all regions as the threat to red squirrel populations, where they remain, is different across the country. For example in the south east, where there are secure populations of red squirrel on the Isle of Wight and Poole Harbour Islands, the focus is on ensuring that grey squirrels do not arrive on the islands and are controlled if they do. In northern England the focus of attention is on 16 reserves designated for red squirrels and preventing or reducing the impact of grey squirrels in these areas. Delivery here depends on a combination of factors including the level of engagement of the private and voluntary sectors.

Water: Conservation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the effect on demand for water of the likely change in the use of domestic power showers over the next 10 years;
	(2)  if he will estimate the  (a) increase over the last decade and  (b) predicted future increase over the next decade of the number of (i) swimming pools, (ii) jacuzzi and other water spa pools and (iii) decorative domestic water features and ponds; and what assessment he has made of the likely impact of these changes on per capita demand for water.

Phil Woolas: The Government's Market Transformation Programme (MTP) allows us to assess the impact of a range of products on water use, including toilets, taps, showers and baths. The MTP is also undertaking a scoping study to determine which other products use significant amounts of water. This will include an assessment of the amount of water consumption associated with swimming pools, hot tubs and spa baths. There is currently no evidence to show that ornamental garden water features involve significant levels of water consumption.
	The MTP will shortly be setting out, for public consultation, the Government's current evidence and analysis on showers. This consultation is part of a wider annual review and policy development process, supporting delivery of the Government's objectives for energy, water and for sustainable consumption and production.
	The paper includes indicative targets and eco-design standards for showers which are sold and used in the UK. The MTP work indicates that if no new policy actions are taken, and current underlying trends continue, water consumption by showers is expected to rise by 48 per cent. by 2020 compared to the 2006 baseline. The policy actions proposed in the document show how this projected increase can be constrained.

Water: Fees and Charges

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 15 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1374W, on water: fees and charges, which  (a) public sector organisations and  (b) private sector consultants or research companies are assisting with updating this research.

Jonathan R Shaw: This research is looking at the distributional impacts of a range of measured and unmeasured tariffs and has involved a large number of organisations. The public sector organisations that have been involved in this work are DEFRA, Ofwat, the Consumer Council for Water and HM Treasury. Private sector companies include the water companies of England and Wales and their research organisation UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR). The contractors carrying out this work are ICF consulting with assistance from WRc.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) male and  (b) female under-age offenders were convicted of drunk and disorderly behaviour in each London borough in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Data on the number of defendants aged 10 to 17 years who were found guilty at all courts for the offence of being drunk and disorderly, broken down by gender and London court area for the years 1996-2005, are provided in the table.
	Additionally, suspects age 16 or over may be issued with a Penalty Notice Disorder (PND) for drunk and disorderly behaviour. Paying the penalty discharges all liability to conviction of the offence.
	In Greater London there were 51 PNDs issued to males aged 16 to 17 in 2004 for being drunk and disorderly in a public place, with four issued to females. These figures rose to 74 for males and 10 for females in 2005. Detailed information on court proceedings including convictions, cautions and PNDs for 2006 will be published in the autumn of 2007.
	
		
			  Number of defendants aged 10 to 17 found guilty at all courts for being guilty while drunk of disorderly behaviour, by London court area 1996-2007( 1,2,3) 
			   Male 
			  London court area  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  City of London police   
			 Guildhall Justice Rooms — — 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Total City of London police — — 1 — — — — — — — 
			
			  Metropolitan police   
			  Inner London   
			 Bow Street — — — 1 — — — — — — 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge — — 1 2 — 2 6 2 1 1 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 1 — 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Highbury Corner — — — — — — — — — — 
			 South Western — — — — 2 2 3 — — — 
			 Thames — — — — 1 2 1 3 2 — 
			 West London — — 1 4 1 3 6 4 5 — 
			 Inner London Juvenile Courts 5 — 1 — — — — — — — 
			
			  Outer London   
			 Barking and Dagenham 1 4 — — 1 — 2 5 1 — 
			 Barnet — — — 1 — 2 3 — — — 
			 Bexley 3 2 1 1 5 1 3 10 3 1 
			 Brent 1 1 2 — 2 2 — 2 — — 
			 Bromley — 2 — — 2 11 4 5 1 1 
			 Croydon — 3 1 3 5 2 2 3 2 — 
			 Ealing — 1 — 1 — — — 2 3 1 
			 Enfield — — — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Haringey 1 1 — — 2 — — 1 — — 
			 Harrow — — — — — 1 — 2 — — 
			 Havering 2 1 3 2 1 4 9 7 7 — 
			 Hillingdon — — 4 2 4 5 5 3 7 1 
			 Hounslow 2 4 4 2 2 2 1 2 2 — 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 1 4 — 1 2 3 2 4 1 3 
			 Merton 6 3 1 3 — 7 4 2 2 — 
			 Newham — — — — — 1 — 2 — — 
			 Redbridge 3 1 — 1 — — — — — — 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1 1 2 8 5 11 2 — 3 — 
			 Sutton 1 2 3 4 5 2 3 2 — 3 
			 Waltham Forest 1 1 — — — — — — 1 — 
			 Total Metropolitan police 29 31 25 36 40 63 56 61 42 12 
			 Total Greater London 29 31 26 36 40 63 56 61 42 12 
		
	
	
		
			   Female 
			  London court area  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  City of London police
			 Guildhall Justice Rooms — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total City of London police — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 
			  Metropolitan police
			  Inner London
			 Bow Street — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge — — — 1 — — — — — 1 1 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Highbury Corner — — — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 South Western — — 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Thames — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 West London — — — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Inner London Juvenile Courts — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 
			  Outer London
			 Barking and Dagenham — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Barnet — — — — — — 1 3 — — — 
			 Bexley — — — — 2 — — 1 2 1 — 
			 Brent — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bromley — 1 — — — — — — — — 2 
			 Croydon — — 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Ealing — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Enfield — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Haringey — — — — — — — 1 — — 1 
			 Harrow — — — — — — — — — 1 — 
			 Havering — — — 1 — — 1 — 1 — 1 
			 Hillingdon 1 — — — — 2 1 — 1 1 — 
			 Hounslow — — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames — — — — — — — — 2 1 — 
			 Merton — — — — — 1 — — — 2 — 
			 Newham — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Redbridge — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Richmond upon Thames — — — — 1 — — — — 1 — 
			 Sutton — — — — — 1 — — 1 1 2 
			 Waltham Forest — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total Metropolitan police 1 1 2 2 3 5 3 6 8 9 7 
			 Total Greater London 1 1 2 2 3 5 3 6 8 9 7 
			 (1) Source: Court proceedings database—Office for Criminal Justice Reform. (2) These data are provided on the principal offence basis. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) males and  (b) females were (i) charged with, (ii) prosecuted for and (iii) convicted of (A) drunk and disorderly behaviour, (B) driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs and (C) causing death by dangerous driving when under the influence of drink or drugs in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Information on charging is not held centrally.
	Information on the number of males and females prosecuted, and convicted for (A) drunk and disorderly behaviour, (B) driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs and (C) causing death by dangerous driving when under the influence of drink or drugs in each London borough, for the years 2001 to 2005 can be viewed in tables A to C respectively.
	In addition, penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) may be issued for the offence of being drunk and disorderly. No admission of guilt is required and payment of the penalty discharges all liability to conviction of the offence.
	PND data held centrally are at Metropolitan and City of London Police Force area level only. The number of PNDs issued in these two areas for being drunk and disorderly was 3,928 to males and 499 to females in 2004, and 2,768 to males and 392 to females in 2005.
	Detailed information on court proceedings including convictions, cautions and PNDs for 2006 will be published in the autumn of 2007.
	
		
			  N umber of persons proceeded against at magistrates court and found guilty at all courts for the offence of any person who in any public place is guilty, while drunk, of disorderly behaviour, by gender, and London borough(s) for the years 2001 to 2005( 1,2,3,4) 
			   Male 
			   Prosecuted  Found guilty 
			  London borough  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Guildhall Justice Rooms 39 51 60 49 46 23 38 43 43 38 
			 Bow Street 262 701 610 147 63 217 590 534 140 57 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge 31 51 80 42 58 23 43 66 26 46 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 37 117 84 41 35 35 112 80 33 32 
			 Highbury Corner 24 32 106 62 45 16 30 95 52 37 
			 Horseferry Road 139 276 259 181 207 124 239 229 161 178 
			 Marylebone 2 3 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 
			 South Western 23 25 38 13 15 20 21 28 10 13 
			 Thames 21 41 44 25 26 18 31 37 21 21 
			 West London 90 151 166 77 68 72 119 116 61 55 
			 Inner London Juvenile Courts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 13 24 38 8 8 9 17 29 8 8 
			 Barnet 10 21 24 11 10 9 15 22 9 9 
			 Bexley 13 28 105 41 7 9 24 73 28 5 
			 Brent 22 26 37 24 23 16 21 29 19 20 
			 Bromley 85 87 78 29 10 61 69 68 18 8 
			 Croydon 147 115 34 38 7 82 69 28 27 7 
			 Ealing 26 75 36 40 18 23 62 33 35 14 
			 Enfield 23 7 11 11 10 18 5 7 7 6 
			 Haringey 8 22 25 14 8 6 15 19 11 7 
			 Harrow 17 23 16 15 9 13 18 14 10 7 
			 Havering 65 85 62 39 10 57 74 57 33 7 
			 Hillingdon 63 79 72 32 31 54 70 62 27 26 
			 Hounslow 42 52 38 35 19 29 39 30 28 15 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 31 22 34 15 16 26 20 24 15 15 
			 Merton 41 35 61 32 4 40 34 51 28 4 
			 Newham 23 35 23 20 32 17 23 20 17 29 
			 Redbridge 8 34 23 9 7 7 28 21 7 6 
			 Richmond upon Thames 40 45 35 14 14 38 33 20 11 10 
			 Sutton 57 59 82 24 12 48 51 72 23 8 
			 Waltham Forest 2 5 8 6 6 1 5 8 6 6 
			 Total 1,404 2,327 2,291 1,096 825 1,113 1,917 1,917 915 695 
		
	
	
		
			   Female 
			   Prosecuted  Found guilty 
			  London  b orough  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Guildhall Justice Rooms 5 2 10 4 5 5 0 6 2 5 
			 Bow Street 23 48 51 22 9 20 36 38 19 9 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge 2 3 8 10 8 0 1 5 3 7 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 2 10 5 2 9 2 9 5 1 6 
			 Highbury Corner 5 9 18 10 8 4 6 17 8 6 
			 Horseferry Road 21 29 28 17 16 16 24 22 10 16 
			 Marylebone 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 South Western 2 2 2 4 0 1 2 2 3 0 
			 Thames 3 3 3 1 4 3 1 1 1 2 
			 West London 7 9 20 13 14 3 5 14 9 14 
			 Inner London Juvenile Courts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 
			 Barnet 4 5 7 1 1 4 4 7 1 1 
			 Bexley 0 2 4 5 0 0 2 2 4 0 
			 Brent 1 2 4 4 1 0 2 4 3 1 
			 Bromley 8 11 14 4 4 3 9 10 3 4 
			 Croydon 11 11 5 2 1 8 7 3 2 1 
			 Ealing 3 4 2 2 4 2 4 1 2 3 
			 Enfield 0 1 2 2 3 0 1 2 2 2 
			 Haringey 2 3 3 3 1 2 3 3 3 1 
			 Harrow 2 2 0 2 2 0 2 0 2 1 
			 Havering 1 5 11 3 2 1 2 8 3 2 
			 Hillingdon 6 7 6 5 2 6 4 4 4 2 
			 Hounslow 3 5 0 3 2 3 2 0 1 2 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 1 3 4 3 1 1 2 4 2 0 
			 Merton 5 1 8 7 2 4 1 4 5 2 
			 Newham 1 2 4 3 30 1 2 4 3 16 
			 Redbridge 0 1 3 1 1 0 1 3 1 1 
			 Richmond upon Thames 3 1 7 2 1 3 0 6 2 1 
			 Sutton 8 8 10 3 3 8 6 7 2 3 
			 Waltham Forest 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 
			 Total 131 189 245 139 134 100 138 185 102 108 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Statute for offence is as follows: The Criminal Justice Act 1967 Sec.91 (4) Source: Court proceedings database—Office for Criminal Justice Reform  Source:  RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice Our ref: IOS 290-07 [Table A] 
		
	
	
		
			  N umber of persons proceeded against at magistrates court and found guilty at all courts for offences relating to Driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs, by gender, and London borough(s) for the years 2001 to 2005( 1,2,3,4,5) 
			   Male 
			   Prosecuted  Found guilty 
			  London borough  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Guildhall Justice Rooms 139 207 197 151 183 129 181 187 130 152 
			 Bow Street 145 197 235 202 174 134 187 216 183 160 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge 866 955 984 1,014 983 753 871 904 935 936 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 851 821 845 713 745 769 747 782 684 689 
			 Highbury Corner 547 579 553 603 563 482 504 487 541 527 
			 Horseferry Road 347 349 289 297 308 303 314 253 267 292 
			 Marylebone 20 39 32 47 21 12 25 20 33 19 
			 South Western 340 421 398 318 291 303 371 362 289 283 
			 Thames 552 647 614 561 643 501 588 549 521 594 
			 West London 541 591 576 524 525 491 535 517 469 468 
			 Inner London Juvenile Courts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 260 362 388 299 291 246 332 346 279 268 
			 Barnet 339 337 312 345 316 315 302 291 325 299 
			 Bexley 285 314 241 249 207 259 290 224 228 196 
			 Brent 483 520 538 433 428 404 458 488 392 395 
			 Bromley 307 332 347 360 359 273 302 319 332 333 
			 Croydon 401 470 429 448 437 382 415 377 386 384 
			 Ealing 535 741 583 607 523 468 664 513 543 488 
			 Enfield 376 353 304 323 314 331 308 267 286 270 
			 Haringey 396 425 412 464 419 339 393 367 432 396 
			 Harrow 232 233 240 287 254 203 210 223 262 235 
			 Havering 230 293 264 328 267 206 264 239 310 255 
			 Hillingdon 377 426 479 462 467 311 386 394 438 447 
			 Hounslow 313 357 294 337 374 255 308 256 313 341 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 254 269 223 281 246 230 239 205 263 240 
			 Merton 221 236 248 271 244 215 227 238 262 237 
			 Newham 403 489 554 507 638 325 418 456 468 574 
			 Redbridge 303 306 337 360 305 279 274 292 325 292 
			 Richmond upon Thames 205 312 272 233 204 185 286 247 222 187 
			 Sutton 242 243 205 231 188 215 215 185 219 173 
			 Waltham Forest 273 350 353 285 286 239 317 316 267 268 
			 Total 10,792 12,174 11,746 11,540 11,183 9,557 10,931 10,520 10,604 10,398 
		
	
	—continued
	
		
			   Female 
			   Prosecuted  Found guilty 
			  London borough  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Guildhall Justice Rooms 18 28 20 15 12 18 27 20 15 11 
			 Bow Street 16 22 23 29 21 16 22 21 28 20 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge 75 84 108 90 107 66 76 93 74 102 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 75 85 89 94 73 66 79 86 86 69 
			 Highbury Corner 56 77 73 76 73 47 70 61 70 68 
			 Horseferry Road 48 51 48 48 48 45 47 46 43 43 
			 Marylebone 2 — 6 4 5 2 — 4 2 5 
			 South Western 53 54 46 48 32 46 50 43 47 32 
			 Thames 48 55 45 47 31 40 50 43 45 29 
			 West London 80 92 80 101 95 78 84 73 93 85 
			 Inner London Juvenile Courts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 7 27 22 20 19 7 26 22 20 18 
			 Barnet 42 45 41 35 42 38 41 38 32 38 
			 Bexley 35 37 29 30 33 31 35 25 28 29 
			 Brent 43 29 31 39 18 41 26 28 37 17 
			 Bromley 33 44 53 67 60 30 42 49 63 57 
			 Croydon 47 58 51 60 64 45 55 46 48 58 
			 Ealing 32 61 33 36 36 28 59 31 34 33 
			 Enfield 33 39 28 39 34 31 31 26 38 31 
			 Haringey 31 34 33 42 49 28 26 30 39 49 
			 Harrow 25 17 25 29 13 23 17 22 27 13 
			 Havering 25 23 36 28 51 20 21 32 27 51 
			 Hillingdon 37 50 44 48 44 29 44 41 46 43 
			 Hounslow 22 41 32 33 40 18 37 27 29 38 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 35 27 29 37 48 31 24 28 33 45 
			 Merton 28 27 25 43 34 26 24 25 42 32 
			 Newham 26 23 23 25 28 22 20 20 22 26 
			 Redbridge 30 26 34 33 19 28 24 31 33 19 
			 Richmond upon Thames 20 29 39 46 32 19 26 36 45 31 
			 Sutton 32 33 25 36 30 27 31 23 34 27 
			 Waltham Forest 22 20 28 25 21 20 18 23 24 20 
			 Total 1,076 1,238 1,199 1,303 1,212 966 1,132 1,093 1,204 1,139 
			 (1 )These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the Figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Statutes are as follows: The Road Traffic Act 1988 Sections4(l), 4(2), 5(l)(a),5(l)(b),6(4),7(6), and 7a as added by the Police Reform Act 2002 5.56, S.57. Transport and Works Act 1992 S.31A as added by Police Reform Act 2002 S.58(4). (4) Offences under the Acts are as follows: Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle whilst unfit through drink or drugs (impairment) only to be used where it is unclear whether it is drink or drugs—see 803/09 or 803/10. Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while having a breath, blood or urine alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit. Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle and failing to without reasonable excuse provide a specimen for a laboratory test or 2 specimens for analysis of breath. Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle while unfit to drive through drink or drugs, (impairment) only to be used where it is unclear whether it is drink or drugs—see 803/11 or 803/12 In charge of a motor vehicle while having a breath, blood or urine alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit. In charge of a motor vehicle and failing without reasonable excuse to provide a specimen for a laboratory test or two specimens for analysis of breath. Failing without reasonable excuse to provide a specimen of breath for a preliminary test. Failing to allow specimen of blood to be subjected to laboratory test. Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment) Drink  Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment) Drugs Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle while unfit to drive through drink or drugs. (Impairment) Drink  Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle while unfit to drive through drink or drugs, (impairment) Drugs (5 )Source: Court proceedings database—Office for Criminal Justice Reform  Source:  RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice Our ref: IOS 290-07 [Table B] 
		
	
	
		
			  N umber of persons proceeded against at magistrates court and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Criminal Justice Act 1967 Sec.91., by gender, and London borough(s) for the years 2001 to 2005( 1.2.3.4) N umber of persons proceeded against at magistrates court and found guilty at all courts for the offence of Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs., by gender, and London borough(s) for the years 2001 to 2005( 1,2,,3,4) 
			   Male 
			   Prosecuted  Found guilty 
			  London borough  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Highbury Corner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Horseferry Road 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Marylebone 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Thames 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 West London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Barnet 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Bexley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Brent 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bromley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Croydon 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Ealing 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Enfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Haringey 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Harrow 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Havering 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 
			 Hillingdon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Hounslow 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Merton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Newham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Redbridge 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Waltham Forest 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Total 4 1 2 3 2 3 2 4 6 6 
		
	
	
		
			   Female 
			   Prosecuted  Found guilty 
			  London borough  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Highbury Corner 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Horseferry Road 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Marylebone 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Thames 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 West London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barnet 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bexley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Brent 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bromley 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Croydon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Ealing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Enfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Haringey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Harrow 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Havering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hillingdon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hounslow 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Merton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Newham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Redbridge 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Waltham Forest 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Statute is as follows: The Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec 3A as added by the Road Traffic Act 1991 Sec 3 and amended by CJA 1993, Sec 67. (4) Source: Court proceedings database—Office for Criminal Justice Reform  Source:  RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice Our ref: IOS 290-07 [Table C]

Animal Experiments

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of animals used in scientific procedures; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: The licensing system under the Animals (Scientific procedures) Act 1986 is demand-led and provides the Home Office, as regulator, with no mechanism for reducing animal use. Instead the Act requires that the procedures authorised must cause the minimum possible suffering to the smallest number of animals of the least sentience. The Act also requires that, before a project licence is issued, we must weigh the benefits to humans, other animals, or the environment against the costs to the animals involved. A licence cannot be granted if the work could be carried out without using animals. The overall amount of animal research which takes place is determined by a number of factors, including the economic climate and global trends in scientific endeavour.
	We are, however, fully committed to encouraging the development and use of alternatives to animal experimentation where this is possible. The establishment of the national Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) by the Government in May 2004 and continued contributions to its funding by the Home Office demonstrates our ongoing commitment in this area. The NC3Rs provides the opportunity to co-ordinate and stimulate research and good practice in the 3Rs (reduction, replacement and refinement). It is able to fund high-quality research and facilitate the exchange of information and ideas, the identification of knowledge gaps, and the translation of research findings into practice to benefit both animals and science. The Centre submits an annual report to the Minister for Science and Innovation on its activities and that report is available on their website at www.nc3rs.org.

Animal Welfare

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with  (a) Animal Concern,  (b) the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and  (c) People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on animal welfare matters.

Meg Hillier: There have been no recent discussions held between Ministers and Animal Concern or the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) concerning animal welfare matters.
	Officials from the Home Office have had discussions with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on matters relating to animal welfare within the context of the use of animals in scientific procedures. These topics have, for example included, discussions on regulatory testing and the use of rodents in carcinogenicity (cancer) studies, the use of non-human primates in testing and research; and a number of matters relevant to the ongoing revision of European Directive 86/609/EEC which is transposed into United Kingdom law through Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Animal Welfare: Protests

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what steps are being taken to combat groups that use violence as a means of protesting against cruelty towards animals;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on the Government's policy on tackling animal rights extremism.

Vernon Coaker: The Government are committed to eradicating the threat of animal rights extremism and have in place a robust inter-departmental strategy to achieve this. The strategy is centred on an improved law enforcement approach, with additional resources provided to the police to tackle animal rights extremism, a central team set-up to drive forward police action nationally and legislation enacted to protect animal research organisations. The result has been a significant fall in illegal extremist activity, and many significant convictions of animal rights extremists in the past 18 months, with others awaiting sentence and other major investigations ongoing. The Government will maintain pressure on animal rights extremists and, in co-operation with law enforcement agencies and extremist targets, will continue to develop protective measures against the extremist threat.
	While the Government are clear that cruelty to animal is unacceptable, it is equally clear that the targets of animal rights extremism in the vast majority of cases are involved in wholly lawful activities. The UK bioscience and medical research sector, the main target of animal rights extremists, complies with the most rigorous regime in the world for animal testing, designed to minimise suffering and ensure the highest welfare standards, and is at the forefront of developing new medicines and treatments for life-threatening conditions including cancer, malaria and cystic fibrosis.

Animal Welfare: Protests

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment the Government have made of whether the Animal Liberation Front should be proscribed as a terrorist organisation.

Tony McNulty: We do not normally comment on organisations which are not on the list of proscribed terrorist organisations. The sufficiency of the list is kept under review.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the maximum number is of recorded breaches of a single antisocial behaviour order;
	(2)  what the current breach rate is of antisocial behaviour orders.

Vernon Coaker: The figure for the maximum number of recorded breaches of a single antisocial behaviour order is not available. The ASBO breach rate for the period 1 June 2003 to 31 December 2005 (latest available) was 47 per cent.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were issued in each London borough to  (a) males and  (b) females aged (i) under 12-years-old, (ii) 13-years-old, (iii) 14-years-old, (iv) 15-years-old, (v) 16-years-old, (vi) 17-years-old and (viii) 18-years-old and over in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The information is not provided by London borough, the available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of antisocial behaviour orders ISSUED at all courts in the Greater London Criminal Justice System (CJS) area, by gender, age group and year 
			  Gender and age group  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  Total issued 
			  Females   
			 10-17 1 0 8 6 17 32 
			 18 and over 2 6 24 55 42 129 
			 Age not known — 2 — 1 5 8 
			 Total females 3 8 32 62 64 169 
			
			  Males   
			 10-17 9 5 33 100 172 319 
			 18 and over 3 6 73 267 279 628 
			 Age not known — 2 1 12 13 28 
			 Total males 12 13 107 379 464 975 
			 Total persons 15 21 139 441 528 1,144 
			  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  As reported to the Home Office by the Court Service.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many breaches of antisocial behaviour orders resulted in custodial sentences in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The latest data available for breaches of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) and custody are for 2003. The figures show that only 134 people in total in England and Wales between 2000 and 2003 were sentenced to custody for breach of ASBOs alone. In all other cases, they were convicted for other offences at the same time.

Armley Prison: Asylum

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers were detained in Armley Prison in each of the last eight months; how many are being so detained; and how many cells are occupied by failed asylum seekers.

Liam Byrne: This information is not centrally recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Any failed asylum seekers detained in prisons are serving criminal sentences. Figures relating to the number of foreign national detainees at any given prison change regularly for a number of different reasons including, for example, removal from the UK, or on transfer to other prison establishments or, upon completion of their custodial sentence, to Immigration Removal Centres.

Banaz Mahmod Babakir Agha

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the police are taking to investigate the actions of police officers preceding the murder of Banaz Mahmod Babakir Agha.

Tony McNulty: On 13 June 2007 the Independent Police Complaints Commission undertook to conduct an Independent investigation of the Metropolitan Police Service's response to matters involving Ms Banaz Mahmod Babakir Agha. The IPCC will, where appropriate, make their findings public at the conclusion of their investigation.

Departments: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of people employed by  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies are disabled.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Proportion of staff with disability—30 June 2007 (percentage)  Total number of staff 
			 Central Home Office 1.75 3,691 
			 Border and Immigration Agency 3.54 19,710 
			 Criminal Record Bureau 2.40 395 
			 Identity and Passport Agency 5.74 3,939

Departments: Disciplinary Proceedings

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in her Department have been  (a) disciplined and  (b) dismissed for (i) inappropriate use of the internet while at work and (ii) using work telephones to access premium rate telephone numbers in the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: The total number of Home Office staff, including those within the Border and Immigration Agency, the Identity and Passport Service and the Criminal Records Bureau, who were disciplined for misuse of the internet between 1 July 2006 and 30 June 2007 is 26. This includes any misuse of IT including misuse of the internal e-mail system. As fewer than five members of staff were dismissed for inappropriate use of the internet, specific information about those individuals is withheld on confidentiality grounds.
	Fewer than five members of staff were disciplined for inappropriate use of the telephone during the same period and this information is also withheld on the grounds of confidentiality.

Departments: Employment Agencies

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Department paid in fees to recruitment agencies for  (a) temporary and  (b) permanent staff in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The Department inclusive of its Executive agencies; the Borders and Immigration Agency, the Criminal Records Bureau and the Identity and Passport Service, does not hold this information centrally for  (a) temporary and  (b) permanent staff and to provide this information would be at disproportionate cost.
	In relation to temporary staff, recruitment fees are not uniform across recruitment agencies and are incorporated within daily rates. It is not always possible to identify these as a discrete element of the daily rate.

Departments: Flint Bishop Solicitors

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies have made payments to Flint Bishop Solicitors since 1997.

Liam Byrne: There are no records of any payments to Flint Bishop Solicitors by the Home Office or its agencies for the period requested.

Departments: Legislation

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what legislative provisions introduced by her Department since 1997 have not yet been brought into force;
	(2)  what legislative provisions introduced by her Department's predecessors since 1997 have been repealed.

Jacqui Smith: Of the legislation introduced by the Home Office since 1 May 1997, for which Home Office Ministers retain responsibility, only one Act (the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1998) has been totally repealed. Many of the others have been repealed or amended in part (as is normal in the ongoing legislative process). But a list of all the provisions repealed since 1997 is not held centrally, and the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The following table lists provisions of Acts for which the Home Office currently has policy responsibility which received Royal Assent since 1 May 1997 which have not yet been brought into force.
	
		
			  Table A 
			  Act  Sections not in force 
			 Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 (85(5), Sch 2(2) 
			 Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 78 
			 Asylum and Immigration(Treatment of (Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 16 
			 Crime (International Co-operation Act 2003 10-12,20-25, 54-75, Sch three, Sch 4 
			 Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 78(7), 80(2) and (4), Sch six para 21, Sch seven para 6 
			 (Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 19, 12 and Schedules 10, 11 and 12 (in part) 
			 Drugs Act 2005 2 
			 Identity Cards Act 1(1)-(4), 1(5)-(8), 2-24, 27-29, 30, 31-34, 35, 39, 41, 42, 43, Sch 1 
			 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 16 and 17, 117(5) 
			 Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 4, 15-18, 20-22, 24-26, 31-39, 44, 47, 50(3) to (6) 
			 Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 10(5)(a), 17 and 18 (for certain purposes), 19-34, 35(1) (a)-(g)(i) and (2) and (3), 36, 37, 39, 40(2) and (3), 41(2) and (3), 44-47, 51 to 53, 124 
			 Police and Justice Act 2006 7(1), 14, 7, 19(1)-(9) and (11), 20, 21, 34-38, 39(1)-(3), (5)-(7), 40(l)-(3), (5)-(7), 41 (in part), 43(1), 46 (part) and Schedules three, eight, nine, 11 and 12, and Schedules one, two, five, 13, 14, and 15 (all in part) 
			 Police Reform Act 2002 45 
			 Private Security Industry Act 2001 17, 21 
			 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 Sch 11 paras 17 and 21, Sch 12 
			 Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 No provisions commenced 
			 Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 120, 114(9), 117(part), 162(3), Sch four (part), Sch four(part), Sch nine (part), Sch 10 (part), Sch 14 (part) 
			 Vehicle (Crimes) Act 2001 8, 34, 35, 36, Sch paras one and 2 
			 Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 l-14, 15-20, 21-22, 27, 31-34, 36-39, 40-41, 43-44, 47, 50 (part, 59, 61, 64, Sch two (part), Sch five (part)

Departments: Legislation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which Bills introduced by her Department in the last five years have contained sunset clauses; and what plans she has for the future use of such clauses;
	(2)  which Bills introduced by her Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The following Acts were introduced during the last five years and are still the responsibility of the Home Office:
	Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002
	Sexual Offences Act 2003
	Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003
	Extradition Act 2003
	Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003
	Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004
	Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004
	Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
	Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005
	Drugs Act 2005
	Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006
	Identity Cards Act 2006
	Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006
	Terrorism Act 2006
	Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006
	Police and Justice Act 2006.
	Of these, the following contained sunset clauses (i.e. provisions that the proposed legislation or part thereof would cease to have effect automatically after a particular period):
	Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (section 13)
	Terrorism Act 2006 (section 25).
	As regards the use of such clauses in future: the appropriateness of a sunset clause for the whole or part of any proposed legislation is considered on a case by case basis. It is also addressed when a regulatory impact assessment relating to legislation is being prepared.

Departments: Passports

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the impact of her Department's practice of holding passports in files for periods of time on the owners of those passports.

Liam Byrne: Passports are required to establish the identity and status of the applicant and so that the immigration decision can be securely placed into the document. Every effort is made to make decisions accurately and speedily. Applicants who require their documents back urgently will be treated sympathetically. Applicants making a straight-forward application who do not wish to be without their documents can use our same day premium service available at Public Enquiry Offices.
	Under section 17 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004, documents may be retained where it is suspected that the person to whom the document relates is liable to be removed from the United Kingdom. The document may be retained to facilitate their removal—a necessary requirement for effective immigration control.

Departments: Redundancy Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by her Department on redundancy payments in the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office does not maintain a central record of costs incurred in contesting employment tribunals (formerly industrial tribunals). The information required could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Deportation: Russia

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the Russian arrested on 21 June on suspicion of conspiracy to murder was deported; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 24 July 2007
	 We do not comment on individual cases.

Driving Offences: Insurance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been of uninsured drivers by the West Midlands police force in each of the last 10 years; and what the average penalty was in each case.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Proceedings at magistrates  courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks( 1) , and average fine imposed, West Midlands police force area, 1997-2004 
			   Total proceedings  Average fine(£) 
			 1997 29,878 207 
			 1998 30,928 190 
			 1999 27,409 189 
			 2000 28,148 201 
			 2001 27,010 169 
			 2002 32,339 192 
			 2003(2) 36,409 200 
			 2004 39,696 206 
			 (1) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2). (2) As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes:  1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete. Work is underway to ensure that the magistrates' courts case management system currently being implemented by the Ministry of Justice reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated. 2: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  Court Proceedings Database held by OCJR.

Driving Offences: Mobile Phones

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers were stopped for using mobile telephones while driving in the latest period for which figures are available; how many subsequent prosecutions there were; and what the outcome was of those prosecutions.

Vernon Coaker: Information on the number of drivers stopped for using hand held mobile phones while driving is not collected centrally.
	The latest figures for prosecutions and outcomes are for 2004. These show that for England and Wales there were 789 prosecutions and 641 convictions for using a hand-held mobile phone while driving. This offence can also be dealt with by the offer of a fixed penalty and there were in addition 73,796 tickets paid.
	2005 data will be available later this year.

Driving Offences: Mobile Phones

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how section 41D of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is being enforced; what training has been provided for the  (a) police and  (b) judiciary; how the Government are monitoring its effectiveness; what guidance has been given to the courts on enforcement issues; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Enforcement of offences is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police enforcement of road traffic. Section 41D, Road Traffic Act 1988 consists of failing to have proper control of a vehicle and using a mobile phone while driving. The likelihood of detection of such offences has increased through the increasing numbers of police, including the deployment on roads of teams involved in the use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) equipment. They can stop vehicles as a result of direct observation, as well as an ANPR hit. Otherwise, the police enforce as operationally appropriate, taking into account other demands on their resources. Training for roads policing duties including the enforcement of Section 41D offences is a matter for individual chief officers.
	Section 41D is an offence to do with vehicle construction and use. All such offences are only triable summarily. All magistrates receive training in road traffic offences as they constitute a large part of the work of the magistrates' court. While there has been no direct training in s41D, the construction and use provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provide the basis of part of the Judicial Studies Board induction training for magistrates about sentencing in road traffic cases. Magistrates also receive advice in court from the clerks and legal advisers.
	For monitoring purposes, the Department for Transport undertakes observational surveys of the number of drivers using mobile phones while driving on a regular basis. The survey for 2007 is under way at the moment and the results will be published later this year. The most recent survey published in August 2006 is TRL Leaflet 2100 which is available online at:
	www.trl.co.uk/store/report_list.asp?pid=211

Driving Under Influence

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to increase the number of roadside breath tests by police forces.

Vernon Coaker: Deployment of resources is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police. In January 2005, however, the Home Office, together with the Department for Transport (DfT) and Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), issued a jointly agreed statement of Roads Policing Strategy. This included as one of its five key actions the reduction of road casualties. The strategy identified drink driving as one of the key behaviours contributing to avoidable casualties and committed the police to tackling it by increasing the risk of detection. Home Office and DfT Ministers wrote to chief officers in January this year to stress the Government's continuing commitment to the Roads Policing Strategy and the importance of effective enforcement of road traffic law. Drink driving was highlighted as an area of offending where there is a need for positive police activity nationally.
	ACPO is due to launch a new enforcement campaign at the end of July to complement the Government's new multi-media anti-drink driving publicity campaign which began on 20 July.

Driving Under Influence: Young People

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people under 16 were arrested for  (a) driving whilst under the influence of (i) drugs and (ii) alcohol and  (b) drink-related offences in each of the last three years.

Vernon Coaker: Centrally held arrest statistics relate to those arrested for recorded crimes (notifiable offences) only. Summary offences such as driving after consuming alcohol, etc. and drink related offences are not notifiable.

Driving Under Influence: Young People

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people under 16 years were arrested in the West Midlands for driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Information on arrests for summary offences of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is not collected centrally.

Driving Under Influence: Young People

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to increase the number of roadside breath tests by police forces for drivers under 25 years old.

Vernon Coaker: Deployment of resources is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police. In January 2005, however, the Home Office, together with the Department for Transport (DfT) and Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), issued a jointly agreed statement of Roads Policing Strategy. This included as one of its five key actions the reduction of road casualties. The strategy identified drink driving as one of the key behaviours contributing to avoidable casualties and committed the police to tackling it by increasing the risk of detection. Home Office and DfT Ministers wrote to chief officers in January this year to stress the Government's continuing commitment to the Roads Policing Strategy and the importance of effective enforcement of road traffic law. Drink driving was highlighted as an area of offending where there is a need for positive police activity nationally.
	ACPO is due to launch a new enforcement campaign at the end of July to complement the Government's new multi-media anti-drink driving publicity campaign which began on 20 July. Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, the police cannot target drivers for breath tests because of their age. They can carry out a test where they reasonably believe that a person is or has been driving or in charge of a vehicle with alcohol in his body, has committed a moving traffic offence or has been involved in an accident.

Entry Clearances

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants for indefinite leave to remain under the 14-year long-stay concession have been waiting for a decision for more than  (a) two years,  (b) three years and  (c) five years.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 26 July 2007
	The information requested could be obtained only by the detailed examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.

Extradition: Russia

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for extradition have been received from the Russian Federation in each of the last 10 years; and how many have been granted.

Meg Hillier: holding answer 24 July 2007
	There were no extradition arrangements between the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation until 2001.
	The number of requests received from the Russian Federation in each year since then is as follows.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2001 2 
			 2002 2 
			 3003 1 
			 2004 5 
			 2005 5 
			 2006 11 
			 2007 3 
			 Total 29

Extradition: Russia

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for extradition have been received from Russia in each of the last 10 years; and how many have been granted.

Meg Hillier: There were no extradition arrangements between the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation until 2001.
	The number of requests received from the Russian Federation in each year since then is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2001 2 
			 2002 2 
			 2003 1 
			 2004 5 
			 2005 5 
			 2006 11 
			 2007 3 
			 Total 29 
		
	
	A number of these requests remain outstanding. None to date has been granted.

Foreign Workers: Health Professions

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits were issued for  (a) doctors and  (b) nurses and auxiliary nurses from (i) Nigeria, (ii) Ghana and (iii) other African countries in 2006.

Liam Byrne: The following table shows the number of work permit applications which were approved for overseas nationals, in 2006 from  (a) Ghana,  (b) Nigeria and  (c) other African countries in 2006. There have been no approvals for auxiliary nurses.
	
		
			  2006 
			   Doctor  Nurse  Total 
			 Ghana 20 290 310 
			 Nigeria 125 600 730 
			 Other African countries 505 3,720 4,230 
			 Total 655 4,610 5,265 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to nearest five. 2. Because of rounding, figures may not add up to totals shown. 
		
	
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Genetics: Databases

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many DNA profiles are held of  (a) males and  (b) females who are (i) under 16 years old, (ii) 16 years old, (iii) 17 years old, (iv) 18 years old and (v) over 18 years old, broken down by ethnicity.

Meg Hillier: The number of profiles held on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) by all forces in the UK as at 31 March 2007, broken down as requested, is shown in the following table. It is currently estimated that 13.7 per cent. of profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates, i.e. that a profile for a person has been loaded on more than one occasion (one reason for this is that the person gave different names, or different versions of their name, on separate arrests). Thus the number of individuals on the database is approximately 13.7 per cent. less than the number of subject profiles.
	
		
			  All forces 
			   Under 16  16  17  18  Over 18  Unknown age 
			  Males—profiles at 31 March 2007   
			 Unknown 10,537 7,097 9,133 10,918 315,224 23 
			 Afro Caribbean 6,513 4,578 5,858 7,016 230,664 16 
			 Arab 261 251 390 473 25,459 31 
			 Asian 3,992 2,870 3,495 4,252 170,952 39 
			 Dark Skinned European 1,172 744 954 1,274 61,027 17 
			 Oriental 148 152 170 262 15,887 1 
			 White Skinned European 83,787 49,483 60,714 71,989 2,374,834 70 
			
			  Males—individuals at 31 March 2007   
			 Unknown 9,093 6,125 7,882 9,422 272,038 20 
			 Afro Caribbean 5,621 3,951 5,055 6,055 199,063 14 
			 Arab 225 217 337 408 21,971 27 
			 Asian 3,445 2,477 3,016 3,669 147,532 34 
			 Dark Skinned European 1,011 642 823 1,099 52,666 15 
			 Oriental 128 131 147 226 13,710 1 
			 White Skinned European 72,308 42,704 52,396 62,127 2,049,482 60 
			
			  Females—profiles at 31 March 2007   
			 Unknown 3,942 2,514 2,913 3,114 69,628 5 
			 Afro Caribbean 2,685 1,795 2,012 2,390 50,633 4 
			 Arab 46 38 40 46 2,251 3 
			 Asian 838 536 728 853 21,482 18 
			 Dark Skinned European 563 324 400 432 11,758 10 
			 Oriental 87 73 95 118 5,742 2 
			 White Skinned European 37,323 23,502 25,552 27,015 564,441 27 
			
			  Females—individuals at 31 March 2007   
			 Unknown 3,402 2,170 2,514 2,687 60,089 4 
			 Afro Caribbean 2,317 1,549 1,736 2,063 43,696 3 
			 Arab 40 33 35 40 1,943 3 
			 Asian 723 463 628 736 18,539 16 
			 Dark Skinned European 486 280 345 373 10,147 9 
			 Oriental 75 63 82 102 4,955 2 
			 White Skinned European 32,210 20,282 22,051 23,314 487,113 23

Identity Cards

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2007 to the hon. Member for Rayleigh,  Official Report, columns 1777-8W, on identity cards, if she will break down by activity the sum spent on all communications activities attributed to the budgets of projects for the future development of biometric passports, identity cards and associated initiatives.

Jacqui Smith: Our systems do not record expenditure at a level that would permit us to breakdown the cost of communication activities directly incurred by development projects. As a result, it is not possible to provide a breakdown without incurring disproportionate cost.
	However, it is possible to provide an overview of the kind of activities charged to this cost code in that year. They reflect both external and internal IPS communications and included advertising and publicity, internal communications materials, media monitoring and the production of publications.
	The amount attributed for communications to the projects is broken down in the following manner (rounded to the nearest £100).
	
		
			  £ 
			 Advertising and publicity 137,600 
			 Video production 500 
			 Publications 3,000 
			 Newsletter 1,900 
			 Information booklet 1,500 
			 Media monitoring 600

Immigration Controls

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were removed from the UK by immigration officials in each of the last five financial years.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 23 July 2007
	Statistics on the number of persons removed from the UK in the calendar years 1995-2005 are published in the Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2005 Command Paper. Information on persons removed in 2006 was published on 21 August 2007 in the Command Paper Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2006. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and on the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Immigration Controls: Health Professions

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reasons were for deciding to publish the Race Equality Impact Assessment relating to the changes in the Immigration Rules for Postgraduate Doctors and Dentists after these rule changes had come into effect.

Jacqui Smith: The Race Equality Impact Assessment relating to the changes in the Immigration Rules for Postgraduate Doctors and Dentists was published following a request from the Commission for Racial Equality in July 2006. We acknowledged at that time that the assessment ought to have been completed before the rules change took place. Our position on this matter has been addressed in the judicial review proceedings brought by BAPIO Action Limited. The judgment handed down on 9 February 2007 can be found at:
	http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2007/199.html.

Immigration Controls: Uniforms

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the cost was of designing new uniforms for border security staff;
	(2)  what she expects the cost to be of providing uniforms to all border security staff;
	(3)  what the total cost was of pilot projects on uniform for border security staff.

Jacqui Smith: The final costs for roll out of uniforms to border control frontline operational staff and the cost element of designing the new uniform cannot be finalised until the supplier has assessed and actioned the total number of orders.
	The cost of the uniforms pilot was £18,192.55 plus VAT. The evaluation of the pilot informed some changes to the materials and specification which has reduced the final overall forecast cost of the garments to be implemented.

Immigration: Detention Centres

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the rate of staff turnover was in each immigration removal centre run by a private company in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: There has been a change of contractor at some of the centres during the last five years so information prior to the changes is not available.
	Campsfield—Since taking over the contract in May 2006 staff turnover for the new contractor, GEO, has been 24.8 per cent.
	Colnbrook—The centre became operational in September 2004. From January 2005-2006 staff turnover was 31 per cent. January 2006-07 was 22 per cent.
	Dungavel—Since taking over the contract in September 2006 staff turnover for the new contractor, G4S, has been 22.8 per cent.
	Harmondsworth—The information recorded is for the last five years ending June of each year. Staff turnover for July 2002-June 2003 was 20 per cent. 2003-04 was 25 per cent. 2004-05 was 27 per cent. 2005-06 was 23 per cent. and 2006-07 was 12 per cent.
	Oakington—Figures are unavailable prior to 2004. Staff turnover for 2004 was 24.2 per cent. 2005 was 30.3 per cent. and 2006 was 24.6 per cent.
	Tinsley House—Figures are unavailable prior to 2004. Staff turnover for 2004 was 11.3 per cent. 2005 was 14.5 per cent. and 2006 was 16.9 per cent.
	Yarl's Wood—Since taking over the contract in April 2007 staff turnover for the new contractor, Serco, has been 13.8 per cent.

Immigration: Detention Centres

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much profit was made by each company running an immigration removal centre in each year since taking on management of the institution.

Liam Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) has various contracts for the operation of its Immigration Removal Centres. The evaluation process for these contracts is extremely robust and examines all aspects of a contractor's submitted tender, including the financial element. However, due to the commercial nature of these contracts, the disclosure of the information requested would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of both the BIA and those companies with whom the BIA enters into contracts.

Immigration: Detention Centres

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of staff in immigration removal centres run by private companies had more than five years' continuous service at the same institution as of 1 February.

Liam Byrne: The information is as follows:
	Campsfield—41 per cent.
	Colnbrook—Not applicable as centre became operational in September 2004.
	Dungavel—29.5 per cent.
	Harmondsworth—16 per cent.
	Oakington—39 per cent.
	Tinsley House—40.8 per cent.
	Yarl's Wood—35 per cent.

Immigration: Detention Centres

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of staff at immigration removal centres run by private companies are from an ethnic minority background; and at what grade.

Liam Byrne: The information is as follows.
	Campsfield—8 per cent., Detention Custody Officers and Management Team.
	Colnbrook—50 per cent., Operational Support Officers and Detention Custody Officers.
	Dungavel—2.5 per cent., one Detention Custody Officer and one Senior Management Team.
	Harmondsworth—41.5 per cent., Detention Custody Officers, Senior Custody Officers and Management Team.
	Oakington—4.45 per cent., Detention Custody Officers and Senior Custody Officers.
	Tinsley—8.9 per cent., Detention Custody Officers, Senior Custody Officers and Management Team.
	Yarl's Wood—The information requested is currently unavailable following the recent change of centre operator in April 2007.

Immigration: Detention Centres

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assaults were recorded against  (a) staff and  (b) other inmates by those held in each immigration removal centre run by a private company in the latest period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The information is as follows:
	Campsfield—From May 2007 to date there has been two assaults on staff and 14 assaults on detainees.
	Colnbrook—Since January 2007 there has been 23 assaults on staff and 22 assaults on detainees.
	Dungavel—Since September 2006 there has been no assaults on staff and 10 assaults on detainees.
	Harmondsworth—Since January 2007 there has been one assault on staff and four assaults on detainees.
	Oakington—Since January 2007 there has been no assaults on either or detainees.
	Tinsley House—Since January 2007 there has been one assault on staff and 11 assaults on detainees.
	Yarl's Wood—Since Serco took over the contract in April 2007 there has been no assaults on staff and one assault on a detainee.
	All the assaults in the aforementioned figures are recorded as being committed by detainees.

Immigration: Detention Centres

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which immigration removal centres are run by private companies.

Liam Byrne: The following immigration removal centres are operated under contract to the Border and Immigration Agency:
	Campsfield House
	Colnbrook
	Dungavel House
	Harmondsworth
	Oakington
	Tinsley House
	Yarl's Wood

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been of uninsured drivers  (a) in total and  (b) in each police force area in each of the last 10 years; and what the average penalty was in each case.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 24 July 2007
	The information requested is set out in the following tables.
	
		
			  Proceedings at magistrates courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks( 1) , and average fine imposed( 2)  by police force area, England and Wales, 1997-2004 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000 
			   Proceedings  Average fine (£)  Proceedings  Average fine (£)  Proceedings  Average fine (£)  Proceedings  Average fine (£) 
			 Avon and Somerset 15,354 259 16,892 204 15,098 165 14,609 182 
			 Bedfordshire 4,724 314 4,449 293 3,479 274 3,594 226 
			 Cambridgeshire 3,440 221 3,425 209 3,058 215 2,929 182 
			 Cheshire 4,838 274 4,961 248 5,463 237 5,729 211 
			 Cleveland 3,925 162 4,204 167 4,331 170 4,793 179 
			 Cumbria 4,223 150 3,787 171 3,597 220 3,507 265 
			 Derbyshire 5,565 270 5,137 279 5,120 283 5,318 296 
			 Devon and Cornwall 8,422 184 7,232 185 7,493 178 9,234 179 
			 Dorset 5,271 295 4,198 302 4,776 301 6,035 261 
			 Durham 3,992 181 4,261 177 5,899 194 5,470 160 
			 Essex 7,161 174 7,025 149 7,336 140 7,898 123 
			 Gloucestershire 3,577 154 4,465 202 4,443 247 4,174 240 
			 Greater Manchester 30,655 245 30,836 226 33,228 236 33,783 232 
			 Hampshire 11,768 132 11,557 135 11,553 138 10,559 136 
			 Hertfordshire 4,580 193 5,799 164 4,748 173 5,258 204 
			 Humberside 4,408 159 4,279 148 4,894 143 5,024 137 
			 Kent 6,935 246 6,958 241 6,151 227 9,033 271 
			 Lancashire 20,334 332 18,794 296 18,111 237 18,354 219 
			 Leicestershire 9,706 318 9,481 318 11,054 276 10,263 254 
			 Lincolnshire 4,589 159 5,000 197 5,345 209 4,500 188 
			 London, City of 2,671 332 3,127 314 2,521 346 1,738 375 
			 Merseyside 10,896 200 9,747 203 8,932 200 10,054 207 
			 Metropolitan Police 42,283 202 35,064 185 31,285 184 29,649 169 
			 Norfolk 3,932 242 3,434 256 3,468 265 3,951 210 
			 Northamptonshire 4,999 243 4,849 286 5,571 310 3,949 280 
			 Northumbria 12,470 136 11,837 146 13,296 148 13,195 144 
			 North Yorkshire 3,926 249 3,744 236 4,003 230 3,905 211 
			 Nottinghamshire 8,078 164 8,726 165 7,957 153 7,748 150 
			 South Yorkshire 11,228 194 11,553 206 11,763 191 12,690 170 
			 Staffordshire 8,180 251 8,210 228 8,021 234 8,777 198 
			 Suffolk 3,258 193 3,743 192 4,189 192 3,923 183 
			 Surrey 4,942 243 3,908 242 4,436 215 4,941 218 
			 Sussex 9,333 218 8,202 186 7,415 181 6,796 167 
			 Thames Valley 11,887 292 11,948 257 13,543 268 12,816 250 
			 Warwickshire 4,316 228 3,769 175 3,523 177 4,135 188 
			 West Mercia 7,082 268 8,207 282 7,450 282 7,686 263 
			 West Midlands 29,878 207 30,928 190 27,409 189 28,148 201 
			 West Yorkshire 23,980 255 23,549 242 25,776 242 26,529 209 
			 Wiltshire 3,463 152 4,820 182 4,708 186 4,901 204 
			 Dyfed-Powys 3,079 183 2,852 182 3,017 175 3,072 169 
			 Gwent 4,097 253 4,478 225 4,451 225 4,680 208 
			 North Wales 4,859 210 4,452 226 4,102 272 3,697 230 
			 South Wales 14,829 190 16,187 180 15,406 183 14,615 188 
			  
			 England and Wales 397,133 224 390,074 214 387,419 212 391,659 203 
		
	
	
		
			   2001  2002  2003( 3)  2004 
			   Proceedings  Average fine (£)  Proceedings  Average fine (£)  Proceedings  Average fine (£)  Proceedings  Average fine (£) 
			 Avon and Somerset 13,022 130 15,124 133 17,163 138 17,489 154 
			 Bedfordshire 4,651 164 4,731 169 5,041 137 4,534 143 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,508 119 2,875 118 3,301 131 3,120 152 
			 Cheshire 4,975 149 5,765 153 6,385 167 6,515 179 
			 Cleveland 4,789 167 5,994 173 5,575 171 6,597 189 
			 Cumbria 3,595 152 3,540 151 3,488 159 3,446 169 
			 Derbyshire 5,429 337 5,614 355 5,793 367 6,326 367 
			 Devon and Cornwall 8,648 133 9,598 132 9,676 127 8,943 134 
			 Dorset 5,262 121 6,176 114 7,034 125 6,075 158 
			 Durham 5,394 118 5,840 122 5,802 121 5,300 116 
			 Essex 7,708 101 7,811 104 7,489 112 7,132 164 
			 Gloucestershire 4,683 91 4,417 86 4,412 133 3,695 147 
			 Greater Manchester 37,088 152 36,337 151 38,208 157 34,942 167 
			 Hampshire 10,349 119 10,912 122 10,619 124 9,750 131 
			 Hertfordshire 5,816 155 6,612 166 7,216 181 7,463 198 
			 Humberside 4,730 122 4,464 132 5,509 137 5,170 150 
			 Kent 9,592 209 10,059 192 9,788 191 10,673 197 
			 Lancashire 16,280 111 17,555 113 21,229 141 16,065 156 
			 Leicestershire 10,475 134 10,699 135 11,304 138 10,833 150 
			 Lincolnshire 4,083 133 4,242 134 5,883 148 6,621 179 
			 London, City of 1,826 369 2,353 368 2,563 334 2,812 230 
			 Merseyside 9,467 163 10,360 167 12,776 148 13,023 137 
			 Metropolitan Police 32,032 139 36,485 140 43,100 143 47,806 147 
			 Norfolk 4,744 99 5,563 107 6,322 139 5,084 152 
			 Northamptonshire 2,028 280 1,211 339 4,157 245 5,804 183 
			 Northumbria 12,504 130 12,309 135 12,951 135 11,685 137 
			 North Yorkshire 3,545 130 3,340 136 3,774 141 4,065 166 
			 Nottinghamshire 7,856 152 7,460 156 9,224 152 9,224 188 
			 South Yorkshire 14,623 128 13,859 137 13,745 146 11,416 125 
			 Staffordshire 6,027 152 7,056 163 7,214 166 7,439 186 
			 Suffolk 4,123 128 4,759 138 5,808 133 5,718 136 
			 Surrey 5,101 201 5,554 215 4,657 221 3,927 197 
			 Sussex 6,814 118 6,413 117 5,808 138 4,371 162 
			 Thames Valley 11,728 134 12,842 135 14,516 158 12,920 198 
			 Warwickshire 4,204 156 3,711 168 3,756 164 4,160 210 
			 West Mercia 7,787 176 7,849 180 7,735 165 7,249 193 
			 West Midlands 27,010 169 32,339 192 36,409 200 39,696 206 
			 West Yorkshire 27,618 120 24,873 123 26,966 134 32,404 144 
			 Wiltshire 5,292 283 5,326 286 4,794 280 4,641 200 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2,953 155 3,316 166 3,094 172 2,244 187 
			 Gwent 4,758 148 4,508 154 4,083 171 3,474 157 
			 North Wales 3,376 144 4,048 150 5,968 149 6,022 154 
			 South Wales 13,805 159 16,499 173 16,932 158 15,946 154 
			  
			 England and Wales 388,298 150 410,398 155 447,267 160 441,819 169 
			 (1) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 section 143 (2). (2) Magistrates courts data only. Fines given at the Crown court total nationally (England and Wales) less than 10 each year. (3) As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete. Work is under way to ensure that the magistrates courts case management system currently being implemented by the Ministry of Justice reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Muktar Ibrahim

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to revoke the UK citizenship of Muktar Said Ibrahim.

Liam Byrne: Our policy is to consider deprivation in all suitable cases. It would, however, be inappropriate to comment on the action that might be taken in any particular case.

Offenders: Deportation

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 299-300W, to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam, on offenders: deportation, in what format information is collected about deportations of foreign nationals.

Jacqui Smith: Lin Homer, the chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency, has updated the Home Affairs Committee regularly over the last year on a range of issues related to the deportation process and foreign national prisoners, both on the progress made on wider deportation issues and in dealing with those foreign national prisoners released without deportation consideration. In the course of these updates she has made it clear that the most robust and accurate information available has been disclosed to the committee.

Offensive Weapons: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were recorded in each London borough involving (a) knives, (b) guns and (c) other offensive weapons in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: Available data relate only to offences where firearms have been fired, used as a blunt instrument against a person or used as a threat. The number of firearm offences (excluding air weapons) recorded by the City of London and Metropolitan police between 1996 and 2005-06 is given in the tables. Data cannot be broken down by London borough. Police force area breakdowns for firearm offences recorded during 2006-07 will be published in a future supplementary volume to the recent 'Crime in England and Wales 2006/2007' Home Office Statistical Bulletin.
	From the information collected on recorded crime it is not possible to identify those offences where knives or other offensive weapons were used, since details of the individual circumstances of offences are not recorded. From April 2007 police forces are providing data on knife-enabled grievous bodily harm and robbery offences.
	
		
			  Table 1: Crimes recorded in which firearms (excluding air weapons) were reported to have been used: City of London and Metropolitan police forces, 1996 to 2001-02 
			   Number of firearm offences 
			 1996 1,741 
			 1997 1,960 
			 1997-98 1,951 
			 1998-99(1) 2,034 
			 1999-2000 2,945 
			 2000-01 3,036 
			 2001-02(2) 4,197 
			 (1) There was a change in the counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998. (2) Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Crimes recorded in which firearms (excluding air weapons) were reported to have been used: City of London and Metropolitan police forces, 2002-03 to 2005-06( 1,2) 
			   Number of firearm offences 
			 2002-03 4,202 
			 2003-04 3,891 
			 2004-05 3,697 
			 2005-06 3,884 
			 (1) Data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002, which may have resulted in inflated figures for some crime categories. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years. (2) Data for 2006-07 will be available in January 2008.

Police Act 1996

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will list the provisions within the Police Act 1996 which  (a) have not yet come into force and  (b) have been repealed (i) prior to and (ii) after coming into force.

Tony McNulty: The Police Act 1996 has been commenced in full. I have written to the hon. Gentleman setting out the details of repeals and amendments made to this Act. I have arranged for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.

Police: Absenteeism

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the workforce was on long-term absence in each police authority in each of the last five years, broken down by reasons for absence.

Tony McNulty: The requested data are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what steps her Department takes to monitor police force responses to the findings of the Independent Police Complaints Commission;
	(2)  what representations she has received on the powers of the Independent Police Complaints Commission; and what powers the Commission has to compel police forces to respond to its findings;
	(3)  what the average length of time taken was for police authorities to respond to recommendations of the Independent Police Complaints Commission in the latest period for which figures are available; what guidance her Department issues to police forces on the timescale of responses; and what monitoring her Department undertakes of the time taken to respond.

Tony McNulty: The information sought is not collected or held by the Home Office. The Home Office has not issued any guidance in relation to response times for police forces to respond to Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) recommendations.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the role of police authorities is in responding to findings of the Independent Police Complaints Commission;
	(2)  if she will make it a requirement for police forces to respond substantively to findings made by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in respect of complaints made against them.

Tony McNulty: Under paragraphs 23(6) and (7) schedule 3 of the Police Reform Act 2002, police forces have an obligation to respond substantively to Independent Police Complaint Commission (IPCC) findings in respect of independent and managed investigations.
	Any best practice recommendations by the IPCC to improve the service the public receives from the police, directed at a police force, would be for it to implement, reporting to its police authority as appropriate.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers police forces have to award compensation to complainants whose complaints have been upheld by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Tony McNulty: Any decision made to award compensation is a matter for the chief officer of the force and his or her police authority.

Police: Employment

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of employment as  (a) a police officer and  (b) a police community support officer was of officers employed in (i) Southend and (ii) Essex Constabulary in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: Information on length of service for police officers is not available in the form requested. Available data are for police force area and are given in the following table. Length of service includes time spent in other police forces in England and Wales.
	The requested data for police community support officers are not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Length of service (headcount) of police officers in Essex as at 31 March 2004 to 31 March 2006 
			   31 March each year 
			   2004  2005  2006 
			 Less than six months 106 183 197 
			 Six months to one year 131 85 73 
			 One year to two years 240 217 225 
			 Two years to three years 205 230 199 
			 Three years to four years 169 203 202 
			 Four years to five years 60 164 183 
			 Five years to 10 years 450 427 484 
			 10 years to 15 years 553 477 447 
			 15 years to 20 years 478 535 553 
			 20 years to 21 years 58 87 84 
			 21 years to 22 years 57 57 77 
			 22 years to 23 years 69 56 69 
			 23 years to 24 years 63 65 66 
			 24 years to 25 years 106 62 68 
			 25 years to 26 years 101 92 63 
			 26 years to 27 years 62 94 101 
			 27 years to 28 years 75 57 93 
			 28 years to 29 years 87 69 63 
			 29 years to 30 years 62 82 72 
			 30 years to 31 years 16 15 32 
			 31 years to 32 years 8 9 5 
			 32 years to 33 years 6 4 9 
			 33 years to 34 years 1 6 4 
			 34 years to 35 years 1 0 3 
			 35 years and over 1 2 2

Police: Interpol

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK police officers are on attachment to Interpol.

Tony McNulty: There are no UK police officers on attachment to Interpol; however, two members of the Serious Organised Crime Agency are on attachment to Interpol.

Police: North West Region

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent police officers there were in each of the five counties in the North West of England in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 26 July 2007
	The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Police Officer Strength( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  by Police Force as at 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2007 
			   31 March each year 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Cheshire 2,137 2,204 2,207 2,218 2,235 
			 Cumbria 1,154 1,241 1,260 1,265 1,273 
			 Greater Manchester 7,391 8,111 8,119 8,071 7,992 
			 Lancashire 3,380 3,579 3,586 3,635 3,628 
			 Merseyside 4,112 4,129 4,339 4,302 4,441 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2 )Full-time equivalent includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

Police: North Yorkshire

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent  (a) police officers,  (b) community support officers and  (c) police civilian staff were employed by North Yorkshire Police as at March 2007.

Tony McNulty: The most recent statistics published by the Home Office show that, on a full-time equivalent basis, 1,671 police officers, 147 police community support officers and 1,128 police staff were employed by North Yorkshire police on 31 March 2007.
	The figures were published on-line in the National Statistics publication "Police Service Strength, England and Wales, 31 March 2007":
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb1307.pdf

Police: Sick Leave

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average annual rate of sickness absence was in each police force in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: Data from 2004-05 onwards are collated and published as part of the Policing Performance Assessment Framework (PPAF). These data are in the form of working hours lost to sickness and are published on the Home Office website located at the following link:
	http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/performance-and-measurement/performance-assessment/
	Data for and prior to 2003-04, are not on the same basis as those available for 2004-05 onwards. These data are in the form of working days lost to sickness and are published in the Annual Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspectorate of Constabulary, located at the following link:
	http://inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk/hmic/about/annual-reports.html/
	The available data are given in the following tables:
	
		
			  Police officer and staff average number of working days( 1)  lost per annum to sickness per person( 2) 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04 
			   Officers  Staff  Officers  Staff  Officers  Staff 
			 Avon and Somerset 13.0 12.5 11.4 12.8 11.0 12.7 
			 Bedfordshire 9.5 10.0 8.0 9.2 8.5 9.5 
			 Cambridgeshire 12.0 11.4 11.4 11.6 10.3 11.2 
			 Cheshire 13.8 13.7 11.5 12.9 9.3 9.5 
			 City of London 12.1 13.1 9.0 9.6 10.3 7.6 
			 Cleveland 12.2 13.9 10.4 11.6 9.0 10.3 
			 Cumbria 13.4 8.9 10.9 8.5 9.9 9.8 
			 Derbyshire 11.5 12.1 10.0 9.6 9.7 8.9 
			 Devon and Cornwall 10.4 13.4 8.9 13.3 8.2 11.6 
			 Dorset 10.0 10.3 11.0 11.0 10.7 10.6 
			 Durham 11.1 11.9 10.1 12.6 9.8 10.3 
			 Dyfed-Powys 10.5 9.7 9.6 11.1 10.9 11.4 
			 Essex 11.2 12.9 10.3 11.0 8.2 11.1 
			 Gloucestershire 10.7 11.8 11.0 11.7 9.8 11.1 
			 Greater Manchester 12.7 14.7 11.0 14.3 10.2 n/a 
			 Gwent 15.6 12.0 10.5 13.2 13.8 17.1 
			 Hampshire 11.1 11.3 9.5 9.8 8.8 8.8 
			 Hertfordshire 11.9 10.9 10.6 12.4 10.4 12.2 
			 Humberside 8.6 10.2 7.8 8.1 6.1 8.7 
			 Kent 11.1 11.8 10.7 12.7 11.8 10.9 
			 Lancashire 11.6 11.7 10.9 14.1 10.1 11.4 
			 Leicestershire 12.2 13.1 10.5 11.8 8.4 12.5 
			 Lincolnshire 12.0 11.3 11.9 12.1 9.9 10.7 
			 Merseyside 12.6 12.4 13.0 13.7 11.4 13.6 
			 Metropolitan Police 10.4 11.1 9.7 10.7 8.4 10.4 
			 Norfolk 12.2 13.9 10.6 11.0 9.2 11.9 
			 Northamptonshire 8.5 7.7 10.9 5.7 12.2 7.4 
			 Northumbria 9.0 12.6 8.9 12.8 8.7 11.2 
			 North Wales 10.5 15.0 9.0 10.2 10.5 11.3 
			 North Yorkshire 9.9 10.7 10.0 11.2 11.1 9.8 
			 Nottinghamshire 11.4 16.5 12.2 15.7 11.6 12.7 
			 South Wales 12.7 14.0 10.1 13.9 10.2 12.9 
			 South Yorkshire 11.6 14.6 9.9 13.7 8.3 11.4 
			 Staffordshire 14.3 12.4 11.8 12.1 10.8 10.2 
			 Suffolk 9.0 7.4 9.6 8.1 7.9 7.1 
			 Surrey 10.9 13.8 10.7 12.9 9.9 10.5 
			 Sussex 11.1 10.7 11.3 11.9 11.3 10.9 
			 Thames Valley 11.4 9.3 10.6 9.5 8.8 9.4 
			 Warwickshire 10.9 13.1 10.3 11.2 8.0 9.0 
			 West Mercia 13.2 10.2 11.5 10.8 10.4 11.3 
			 West Midlands 13.1 14.0 10.7 12.6 8.1 10.1 
			 West Yorkshire 13.4 12.4 9.7 11.0 8.3 9.3 
			 Wiltshire 13.2 8.1 12.9 9.1 12.4 9.8 
			 (1) Prior to 2004-05 sickness data were recorded in days rather than hours. (2) Data published in the Annual Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspectorate of Constabulary. 
		
	
	
		
			  Police officer and staff average number of working hours( 1)  lost per annum to sickness per person( 2) 
			   2004-05  2005-06 
			   Officers  Staff  Officers  Staff 
			 Avon and Somerset 81.7 78.4 87.2 91.2 
			 Bedfordshire 81.4 69.7 90.8 70.6 
			 Cambridgeshire 98.4 93.9 87.4 80.2 
			 Cheshire 97.1 93.5 80.3 90.1 
			 City of London 53.6 64.6 50.0 63.4 
			 Cleveland 56.4 62.1 62.5 77.9 
			 Cumbria 85.2 62.5 67.2 58.9 
			 Derbyshire 80.4 60.2 69.6 67.9 
			 Devon and Cornwall 73.8 83.3 67.4 86.5 
			 Dorset 100.1 84.3 90.3 71.4 
			 Durham 88.7 84.9 95.9 83.5 
			 Dyfed Powys 92.7 80.7 78.7 63.6 
			 Essex 56.3 63.0 64.0 67.3 
			 Gloucestershire 73.8 79.3 87.2 70.4 
			 Greater Manchester 81.3 91.9 74.8 85.0 
			 Gwent 115.3 118.2 92.3 80.3 
			 Hampshire 8.3 8.2 63.4 56.0 
			 Hertfordshire 86.2 75.6 78.3 66.5 
			 Humberside 53.8 56.9 45.1 59.2 
			 Kent 77.8 77.9 70.0 68.5 
			 Lancashire 82.8 69.3 71.5 57.3 
			 Leicestershire 75.8 79.0 67.4 85.9 
			 Lincolnshire 82.5 68.8 68.2 64.2 
			 Merseyside 90.4 88.7 77.0 89.6 
			 Metropolitan Police 56.4 65.4 54.3 64.3 
			 Norfolk 73.8 73.9 76.8 82.7 
			 North Wales 70.8 55.8 76.9 78.7 
			 North Yorkshire 73.3 66.6 80.9 75.6 
			 Northamptonshire 85.8 60.0 70.8 55.9 
			 Northumbria 77.1 79.4 77.7 72.9 
			 Nottinghamshire 89.2 90.3 78.1 86.8 
			 South Wales 86.0 95.1 94.1 78.6 
			 South Yorkshire 84.0 95.4 64.0 77.5 
			 Staffordshire 76.4 68.2 82.1 78.1 
			 Suffolk 63.9 52.7 64.3 56.6 
			 Surrey 70.6 65.8 66.4 61.7 
			 Sussex 91.5 81.1 77.6 72.7 
			 Thames Valley 65.6 73.6 55.9 74.0 
			 Warwickshire 60.2 56.5 81.4 78.2 
			 West Mercia 87.8 80.6 82.0 73.5 
			 West Midlands 51.1 63.1 58.7 66.6 
			 West Yorkshire 76.7 71.8 63.4 63.1 
			 Wiltshire 81.8 79.0 84.0 73.9 
			 (1) From 2004-05 onwards sickness data were recorded in hours rather than days. (2) Data published in the Home Office Police Performance Monitoring Reports and online.

Police: Vehicles

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether undercover police cars are obliged to display a no-smoking sign following the introduction of the ban on smoking in public places.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	Like all vehicles used in the course of work by more than one person, police vehicles should display no-smoking signs as required under smokefree legislation, although there is no requirement for those signs to be visible from outside the vehicle.

Proscribed Organisations

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additions have been made to the list of proscribed organisations under the Terrorism Act 2000 since January 2006; what the reason was for each addition; and what further additions are planned.

Tony McNulty: Six organisations have been added to the list of proscribed organisations since January 2006. They are: Al Ghurabaa, the Baluchistan Liberation Army, Saved Sect (or Saviour Sect), Teyre Azadiye Kurdistan, Tehrik Nefaz-e Shari'at Muhammadi, and Jammat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh. These additions were made because the organisations were considered to be concerned in terrorism. Section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000 sets out that an organisation is concerned in terrorism if it: (a) commits or participates in acts of terrorism, (b) prepares for terrorism, (c) promotes or encourages terrorism, or (d) is otherwise concerned in terrorism. Section 21 of the Terrorism Act 2006 extended the meaning of 'promotes or encourages terrorism' to include the unlawful glorification of terrorism. The sufficiency of the list of proscribed organisations is kept under review.

Racial Harassment: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints of racial harassment were reported in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The available information relates to racially or religiously aggravated harassment offences recorded by the police and is given in the table.
	
		
			  Racially or religiously aggravated harassment offences recorded by the Metropolitan Police Service—2002-03 to 2006-07 
			  London borough  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Barking and Dagenham 164 187 237 207 198 
			 Barnet 267 273 326 262 154 
			 Bexley 102 150 146 134 152 
			 Brent 129 149 268 187 112 
			 Bromley 132 152 167 155 161 
			 Camden 114 129 215 176 289 
			 City of Westminster 300 280 287 265 312 
			 Croydon 186 196 204 211 127 
			 Ealing 171 157 169 183 198 
			 Enfield 205 95 62 94 134 
			 Greenwich 283 242 265 229 285 
			 Hackney 159 175 177 168 167 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 126 81 121 140 137 
			 Haringey 98 58 96 117 101 
			 Harrow 117 92 76 69 83 
			 Havering 75 90 132 117 58 
			 Hillingdon 194 161 98 186 198 
			 Hounslow 292 329 350 273 197 
			 Islington 144 187 213 224 228 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 90 102 85 111 140 
			 Kingston upon Thames 105 145 160 85 73 
			 Lambeth 216 207 225 182 193 
			 Lewisham 170 178 196 209 261 
			 Merton 171 161 161 112 85 
			 Newham 191 196 182 194 133 
			 Redbridge 136 175 135 87 99 
			 Richmond upon Thames 109 88 62 39 35 
			 Southwark 194 248 225 249 189 
			 Sutton 122 149 177 94 84 
			 Tower Hamlets 330 303 278 267 359 
			 Waltham Forest 130 168 165 216 138 
			 Wandsworth 129 145 141 157 126 
			 Metropolitan police total 5,351 5,448 5,801 5,399 5,206

Samar Razavi

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Prime Minister's oral answer of 18 July 2007,  Official Report, column 273, if she will make a statement on the case of Samar Razavi.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 26 July 2007
	 My hon. Friend the Home Secretary wrote to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) and the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Ellwood) on 27 July 2007 about the immigration matters of Miss Razavi. We do not make statements about individual immigration cases.

Security: Assassination

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on recent operations by the police and security services aimed at preventing the assassination of foreign dissidents resident in England.

Tony McNulty: We do not comment on the specifics of operations carried out by the police and security services.

Security: Assassination

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested in relation to the attempted murder of foreign dissidents resident in England in the last month.

Tony McNulty: It would be inappropriate to comment on police operational matters.

Security: Assassination

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps Scotland Yard has taken to protect foreign dissidents from assassination while resident in England.

Tony McNulty: We do not comment on the protective measures and procedures of the police. This is an operational matter for the force involved.

Security: NHS

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish a redacted version of the report on Security and the National Health Service prepared by Admiral Sir Alan West.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the statement by my hon. Friend the Prime Minister of 25 July 2007,  Official Report, column 841.

Sexual Offences: Police Cautions

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cautions were given to those accused of sexual offences in  (a) Leeds,  (b) West Yorkshire and  (c) England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 23 July 2007
	The number of persons aged 10 to 15 cautioned for all offences in West Yorkshire police force area for the years 2001 to 2005, along with the number of defendants of all ages cautioned by offence type in West Yorkshire police force area, and the number of defendants of all ages cautioned for sexual offences in England and Wales for the years 2001 to 2005 can be viewed in the following tables. This information is from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
	Information on cautions collected by the police is only reported to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform broken down at force area level, not by police division, so it is not possible to separately identify the number of cautions in Leeds from our data.
	Technically an offender could receive a second caution for a similar offence but it should be in very extenuating circumstances. The Home Office Circular discourages repeat use of the same penalty with the same offender. Someone who offends again needs to know that the next response will be a tougher one. And where a serious offence is committed, then the case should go to court.
	Therefore both national and locally held records must be checked before a caution is given. If the suspect has previously received a caution then a further caution should not normally be considered. If there has been a sufficient lapse of time to suggest that a previous caution has had a "significant deterrent effect" then a caution can be administered, but it is at the discretion of the police and CPS. The lapse of time varies, in practice, between forces.
	
		
			  Number  of defendants aged 10 to 15 cautioned for all offences by West Yorkshire police for the years 2001 to 2005( 1,2) 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  West Yorkshire police force area  
			 10-15 3,099 3,158 3,116 4,140 5,149 
			 (1 )These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Our ref:PQ151448  Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number  of defendants of all ages cautioned by offence type in West Yorkshire police force area and the number of defendants of all ages cautioned for sexual offences in England and Wales for the years 2001 to 2005( 1,2) 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  West Yorkshire  
			 Violence against the person 1,109 1,670 2,493 4,277 6,038 
			 Burglary 401 390 346 485 563 
			 Robbery 37 37 29 41 49 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 2,688 2,423 2,538 3,138 3,635 
			 Fraud and forgery 208 210 189 279 332 
			 Criminal damage 52 76 83 101 149 
			 Drug offences 934 1,271 1,294 1,457 1,674 
			 Other indictable offences 139 165 323 362 520 
			 Summary offences (excluding motoring) 3,474 3,787 3,951 4,743 4,859 
			 Sexual offences 29 44 31 76 85 
			   
			  England and Wales  
			 Sexual offences 1,240 1,203 1,359 1,553 1,761 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Our ref: PQ 151284 and 151285.  Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice.

Solvents: Misuse

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the impact of the recent reduction in funding for the young people substance misuse grant.

Vernon Coaker: The reduction in funding for the Young People's Substance Misuse Partnership Grant (YPSMPG) for 2007-08 was primarily because of £4 million of Department of Health Targeted Prevention funding being reallocated to other priorities. No specific assessment of the impact of the reduction of funding has been undertaken by the Department of Health. The YPSMPG and other mainstream funding supports local work to reduce drug use among young people. Drug use among young people is monitored through the Schools Survey and British Crime Survey.

Speed Limits: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much in fines following speed offences detected by camera was  (a) imposed and  (b) paid in each London borough in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how much was raised in fines from speed cameras in each London borough in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: Data collected centrally provides information for England and Wales on the number of fixed penalties and prosecutions for offences detected by camera; this information is not available at the London borough level. Information on the level of fines and fixed penalties and their payment does not distinguish offences detected by camera from other offences.

Stop and Search: Training

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training is given to police officers in the use of stop and search procedures.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 23 July 2007
	Training in stop and search procedures is provided by all police forces as part of the initial police learning and development programme for new officers. The training is reinforced for new sergeants and inspectors in the operational sections of the core leadership development programme. All police forces have a full training package on stop and search powers provided by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA). In addition to this, an E-Learning module on stop and search powers is available to all police personnel in all forces, provided by an NPIA and Metropolitan Police Service Partnership.

Surveillance

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  who is responsible for the oversight of the operation of the intelligence and security services in  (a) interception of communications,  (b) surveillance and  (c) access to private property;
	(2)  how many complaints lodged in 2006-07 about  (a) interception of communications,  (b) surveillance and  (c) access to private property were upheld;
	(3)  how many complaints were lodged in 2006-07 about  (a) interception of communications,  (b) surveillance and  (c) access to private property;
	(4)  what the process is for  (a) raising,  (b) investigating and  (c) adjudicating complaints about (i) interception of communications, (ii) surveillance and (iii) access to private property.

Tony McNulty: Independent oversight of the operation of the intelligence and security services in the regulated investigatory powers identified is provided respectively by:  (a) the Interception of Communications Commissioner (currently Sir Paul Kennedy);  (b) the Chief Surveillance Commissioner (Sir Christopher Rose); and  (c) the Intelligence Services Commissioner (currently Sir Peter Gibson). The Investigatory Powers Tribunal was established under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to consider complaints and human rights claims arising from conduct involving regulated investigatory powers. Application to the tribunal can be made by writing to: The Investigatory Powers Tribunal, PO Box 33220, London SW1H 9ZQ, or by telephoning 0207 035 3711. The tribunal will obtain the information it requires from the applicant and organisations concerned to investigate the matter and inform the complainant of the outcome. An oral hearing may be held. If the tribunal decides that there has been contravention of any relevant legislation and the organisation concerned has not acted reasonably, it may uphold the complaint. Remedial measures such as the quashing of any warrants, destruction of any records held or financial compensation may be imposed at the tribunal's discretion. Although the details of individual complaints made to the tribunal are not made public, information on the number of complaints is provided in the annual reports of the Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Intelligence Services Commissioner, copies of which are placed in the Library of the House. However, the Commissioners' reports for 2006-07 are not yet available.

Yarl's Wood Detention Centre

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 624-5W to the hon. Member for Hendon, on Yarl's Wood Detention Centre, if she will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of the bi-weekly meetings that are in place to support direct communication between detainees and the managers of the centre.

Jacqui Smith: Minutes from the last two meetings which were held on 31 May and 3 July will be placed in the House Library.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments: Cambridgeshire

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of accident and emergency departments that will close in Cambridgeshire over the next five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has made no assessment. This is a matter for the local national health service and we have been advised by the East of England Strategic Health Authority (SHA) that there are no plans to close accident and emergency (A&E) departments in Cambridgeshire. There is, however, a consultation on the way services are provided at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, but the SHA has assured us that all A&E service currently provided by Hinchingbrooke will continue to be available although the way they are provided may change to improve care for patients.

Ambulance Services: North West Region

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulances in the North West region are  (a) equipped and  (b) not equipped with a 12 lead ECG.

Ben Bradshaw: All emergency ambulances should be equipped with a 12 lead ECG. However, the Department does not collect information centrally on the number of ambulances equipped with 12 lead ECGs.

Analgesics: Childbirth

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve the availability of pain killing drugs to assist with home births.

Ann Keen: The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 clause 11 Exemption for Midwives allows midwives to have in their possession controlled drugs required for their professional practice; this includes pethidine, a Schedule 2 Controlled Drug.
	We have included the offer of home birth as a choice in our framework document "Maternity Matters: Choice, access and continuity of care in a safe service", published in April. Home births should be offered within a risk management framework and with adequate local infrastructure and support. It will be for local providers to ensure there are arrangements in place for midwives attending home births to obtain pethidine within existing regulations.

Civil Service: Conditions of Employment

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the civil service code rules relating to the future employment of former civil servants will apply to the outgoing chief executive of NHS Connecting for Health; and whether any additional contractual conditions or restraints are in place.

Ivan Lewis: The Director General of NHS Connecting for Health is subject, as part of his contract, to the rules on the acceptance of outside business appointments in the same way as any other civil servant.

Community Hospitals: Finance

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much and what percentage of the Community Hospital Fund has been allocated; to which projects, broken down by constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: We are investing up to £750 million capital over five years to support the development of community hospitals and services. Information about the cost of schemes announced so far and the funding profiled for 2007-08 is set out in the table. The boundaries of primary care trusts and parliamentary constituencies do not match and the constituency for each scheme is not available centrally.
	
		
			  Scheme  Cost of scheme (£ million)  Percentage of £750 million  Allocated in 2007-08 (£ million) 
			 New Primary Care Centre in Washington in Sunderland 9.0 1.2 6.0 
			 Redevelopment of Gosport War Memorial Hospital 6.1 0.8 3.4 
			 New Community Health Centre in Yate, Bristol 5.0 0.7 2.0 
			 Healthy Living Park in Minehead, West Somerset 24.5 3.3 12.0 
			 Redevelopment of the Barking Hospital 5.0 0.7 0.4 
			 New Health and Social Care Centre in Teddington 4.0 0.5 1.0 
			 New Primary Care Centre in Hastings 11.7 1.6 0.5 
			 Redevelopment of the Royal South Hampshire Hospital 6.1 0.8 2.9 
			 New Primary Care Centre in Ashfield 1.1 0.1 1.1 
			 Redevelopment of the Felixstowe Community Hospital 1.8 0.2 1.8 
			 New Primary Care Centre in Rotherham 1.0 0.1 0 
			 New Community Hospital in Bristol 3.9 0.5 0 
			 New Community Hospital in Hornsey 1.7 0.2 1.0 
			 Redevelopment of five local hospitals and additional community services in Calderdale and Kirklees 13.8 1.8 1.4 
			 Total 94.6 12.6 33.6 
			  Note: Figures are rounded and totals may not sum to component parts.

Departments: Air Conditioning

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by his Department and its agencies on the hire of mobile air conditioning units in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has spent the following on mobile air conditioning units:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002 2,650.00 
			 2003 2,100.00 
			 2004 1,800.00 
			 2005 1,500.00 
			 2006 750.00 
			 2007 0.00

Departments: Aviation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by his Department on  (a) first class and  (b) business flights in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department's expenditure on first class flights in the last 12 months was £9,946.
	The Department's expenditure on business class flights in the last 12 months was £463,723.
	These figures consist of air travel booked via the Departments contracted agent. There are some exceptional cases where air travel is booked outside of the contract but these cannot be identified separately without incurring disproportionate costs.
	All travel within the Department is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.

Departments: Catering

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of  (a) beef,  (b) sheep meat,  (c) pork and  (d) dairy products used in his Department in the most recent period for which figures are available were imported products.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 19 July 2007
	Work is currently under way to enable the collection of this information from central Government Departments that will include the proportion of  (a) beef,  (b) sheep meat,  (c) pork and dairy products, that are produced domestically. I understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will tell the House when this information is deposited in the Library.

Departments: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of people employed by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies are disabled.

Ivan Lewis: The latest available data as at 30 September 2006 are published in Civil Service Statistics 2006 at Table P and can be accessed at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=2899&Pos=&ColRank=l&Rank=422
	www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/2006CivilServiceStatistics.pdf
	Declaration of a disability is voluntary.

Departments: Employment Agencies

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Department paid in fees to recruitment agencies for  (a) temporary and  (b) permanent staff in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: Information is not available in the format requested.
	In the years where information is available, the costs of agency staff were:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 6,302,171 
			 2005-06 12,186,224 
			 2004-05 12,507,092

Departments: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  in which years his Department's  (a) near-cash,  (b) non-cash and  (c) capital budget was reduced as a result of it being reprofiled over the years covered by the 2004 Spending Review; and by whom in each case;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1446W, on Departments: public expenditure, and the information provided on page 271 of HM Treasury's 2006 Budget report, how his Department's budget was reprofiled over the 2004 Spending Review period; and how much of its  (a) near-cash budget,  (b) non-cash budget and  (c) capital budget was transferred from which year to which year.

Ben Bradshaw: Updated spending estimates are set out in the "Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses". The "Differences from Previous Plans'' chapter compares the latest plans for Department Expenditure Limits and Annually Managed Expenditure with the plans set out in the previous year.
	Expenditure plans are routinely updated as part of the parliamentary estimates process, and updates are also published in the Budget and pre-Budget report.

Departments: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter received by his Department from HM Treasury at the time of the 2006 Budget giving his Department formal notification that its budget would be reprofiled over the years covered by the 2004 Spending Review.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has regular correspondence with HM Treasury on a wide range of issues. It is not Government practice to place such correspondence in the Library.

Departments: Flowers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by his Department on flowers in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department spent £1,300 on flowers in the last 12 months.

Departments: Land

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what land he expects to be disposed of by his Department between 2007 to 2011; and whether he plans to require that land to be used for social housing.

Ben Bradshaw: The list that follows comprises the larger sites, in the ownership of the Secretary of State for Health, that are expected to be sold between 2007 and 2011. For those sites with housing potential, the requirement for the provision of social housing will need to be negotiated and agreed with the local planning authority.
	Cherry Knowle Hospital, Sunderland
	Sedgefield Hospital, Sedgefield
	Northern View, Bradford
	Land off Memorial Avenue, Worksop
	Part Towers Hospital, Leicester
	Lakeview Close, Walsall
	Part Little Plumstead, Norwich
	Land at Harp Close, Sunbury
	Land at Harwich Hospital, Harwich
	Part Harperbury Hospital, Radlett
	Land at Napsbury, St. Albans
	Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hackney
	Eastry Hospital, Eastry
	Part Park Prewett, Basingstoke
	Standish Hospital, Stroud

Departments: Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been appointed to his Department outside Civil Service grades in the last 30 days.

Dawn Primarolo: None.

Departments: Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many press officers are employed by his Department.

Ivan Lewis: As at 1 April 2007, the Department employed 30 full-time press officers, four part-time.

Departments: Press

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health to which periodicals his Department subscribes.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department's library service is responsible for central purchasing of periodicals for library use and for retention by individual units using a journals supplier within a framework contract for Government Departments.
	Tables showing periodicals which the Department subscribes to in 2007 have been placed in the Library.

Departments: Press

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by his Department on newspapers and magazines in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department spent £81,134 on newspapers and magazines in the last 12 months.

Departments: Private Finance Initiative

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the nature is of each private finance initiative scheme for which his Department is responsible  (a) approved since January 2006 and  (b) under consideration; what the planned capacity is of the facilities to be provided by each project; what the contracted or expected construction cost is of each; on what date the contract for each was or is planned to be finalised; what the planned completion date is of each; what the period of each contract is; what the annual charge to the relevant NHS trust is in each case; and what the estimated annual carbon dioxide emissions associated with each development are.

Ben Bradshaw: The information on planned capacity construction cost (capital value), actual and planned contract finalisation, opening date, contract length, and annual charge is provided in the table. We have interpreted "under consideration" as meaning those schemes which were considered and approved to proceed since January 2006 as part of the Department's private finance initiative (PFI) re-appraisal exercise and are continuing with their procurements but have not yet reached financial close.
	The mandatory energy target which applies to the national health service as a whole is to reduce the level of primary energy consumption by 15 per cent. or 0.15 MtC (million tonnes carbon) from March 2000's level by March 2010. To achieve this individual NHS bodies must achieve energy usage targets of between 33 and 55 GJ/100cu.m per annum (Gigajoules/100 Cubic Metres) for all new capital developments and major redevelopments or refurbishments; and that all existing facilities should achieve energy usage of between 55 and 65 GJ/100cu.m per annum.
	If energy provisions are included in a PFI scheme then they must comply with these targets. Figures are collected centrally for progress against these energy targets (which are then converted into a carbon dioxide emission figure) but only for the whole of each NHS trust's estate i.e. it is not possible to separately identify a figure for the PFI element.
	
		
			  NHS trust  Capital value (£ million)  Financial close date  Estimated operational date  First annual unitary payment (£ million)( 1)  Bed numbers( 2)  Contract length (years)( 3)  Scheme description 
			  A—PFI schemes approved since January 2006 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals 67 21 February 2006 Q2 2008 4.0 100 30 Reconfiguration of Cancer facilities 
			 Ipswich Hospital 36 27 March 2006 Q4 2007 2.9 — — Garrett Anderson Treatment Centre 
			 Barts and the London 1,000 27 April 2006 Q4 2013 96.4 990 35 Major Acute development of The Royal London hospital. New wing, Cancer and Cardiac Centres and extensive refurbishment of Barts hospital. 
			 St. Helens Hospitals 338 1 June 2006 Q4 2008 30.0 1151 35 Major Acute Hospital development of St. Helens and Whiston Hospital sites. 
			 University Hospital Birmingham/Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health 627 8 June 2006 Q1 2010 47.0 1327 35 Single site hospital to replace Selly Oak and Queen Elizabeth Hospitals and provide a new Mental Health Unit (Joint scheme with Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHST). 
			 South West Essex Teaching PCT 30 29 June 2006 Q3 2008 3.3 — — Reprovision of Brentwood Community Hospital 
			 Taunton and Somerset —Cancer Centre 21 28 February 2007 Q1 2009 2.6 — — Cancer Centre 
			 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 29 3 May 2007 Q2 2009 2.4 — — New Mental Health facilities (part of the PFI Mental Health batch in the Midlands known as '3 Shires') 
			 University Hospital of North Staffordshire 306 13 June 2007 Q3 2012 40.7 1129 30 Major new build and reconfiguration at University Hospital site. 
			 Mid Yorkshire Hospitals 343 22 June 2007 Q2 2010 27.0 762 32 Rationalisation from two main sites to one at Pinderfields Hospital. Small Unit at Pontefract. 
			 Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals 336 29 June 2007 Q1 2012 24.1 748 32 New Acute Hospital, Mental Health unit and integrated care centre. 
			 
			  B—PFI schemes under consideration since January 2006 
			 Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys 78 Q3 2007 Q4 2008 — 312 — Replacement of St. Luke's Hospital 
			 Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells 225 Q1 2008 Q4 2010  512  Modernisation and reconfiguration from four sites to two at Pembury and Maidstone. 
			 North Bristol/South Gloucestershire PCTs 310 Q1 2009 Q1 2014 — 947 — Centralisation of specialist and Acute services presently located at Frenchay and Southmead Hospitals. 
			 Tameside and Glossop Acute Services 109 Q3 2007 Q3 2009 — 134 — Integration of services onto one site 
			 Mid Essex Hospital Services 143 Q3 2007 Q2 2010 — 336 — Relocation of Maternity Unit and modernisation of Acute Services including DTC in Chelmsford. 
			 North Middlesex University Hospital 111 Q3 2007 Q2 2010 — 150 — Replacement Accident and Emergency services, inpatient beds and Diagnostic and Treatment Centre. 
			 Salford Royal Hospitals 190 Q3 2007 Q12011 — 209 — New build and refurbishment at Hope Hospital Salford 
			 Walsall Hospitals 141 Q4 2007 Q4 2009 — 558 — Improving Children's services and provision of primary care centres. 
			 (1) Annual payments to the private sector are not finalised until financial close. (2) Capacity information is not held centrally for non-prioritised schemes. (3) Figures for the contract length exclude the build period. Details of the length of contract are only held centrally for major schemes. For all other schemes the contract length is assumed to be 30 years, the standard length introduced under the Standard Form Contract in 1999. Contract length is not finalised until financial close.

Departments: Public Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1553W, on Departments: public expenditure, what items of specific guidance have been issued to departments in the last five years on the co-ordinating of particular exercises.

Ben Bradshaw: Where we have worked with HM Treasury on issues that involve many different parts of the Department, an official within the Department is typically asked to coordinate the work. This includes a large number of small exercises, as well larger issues such as spending reviews. It would not be practical to trace everyone of these exercises over the last five years.

Departments: Railways

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by his Department on first class train tickets in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department's expenditure on first class train tickets in the last 12 months was £3,110,108.
	This figure consists of rail tickets booked via the Department's contracted agent. There are some exceptional cases where rail tickets are booked outside of the contract but these cannot be identified separately without incurring disproportionate costs.
	All travel within the Department is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.

Departments: Redundancy Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by his Department on redundancy payments in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 July 2007,  Official Report, column 231W.

Departments: Taxis

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by his Department on taxis in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department's expenditure on taxis in the last 12 months was £310,754.00. This figure consists of taxi travel booked via the Department's contracted agent. There are some exceptional cases of taxi travel outside of the contract but these cannot be identified separately without incurring disproportionate costs.
	Travel within the Department is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by his Department on staff away days in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not held centrally and to collect it would be at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Tribunals

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by his Department on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department spent a total of £44,249 on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months. This figure includes settlement costs as well as Counsel fees.

East of England Strategic Health Authority: Pay

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with East of England Strategic Health Authority on payoffs to staff and the effect of such payoffs on the Strategic Health Authority's budget.

Ivan Lewis: Staff recruitment and retention is a matter for local trust management in conjunction with the appropriate strategic health authority (SHA). There have been no discussions as to redundancy payments between the Minister and the SHA.

Health Professions: Nutrition

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) headcount and  (b) full-time equivalent (i) dieticians and (ii) nutritionists were working in the NHS in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Romsey (Sandra Gidley) on 31 July.
	The numbers of nutritionists are not identified separately and are included in the numbers of dieticians.

Health Services: Private Sector

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether his Department requires primary care trusts to consult  (a) existing acute hospitals,  (b) county council overview and scrutiny committees,  (c) GPs,  (d) patients and  (e) other representatives of the health community prior to tendering taking place for independent sector treatment centres;
	(2)  whether existing acute hospitals are permitted to tender for independent sector treatment centres;
	(3)  what his Department's policy is on primary care trusts tendering for independent sector treatment centres when there is underused NHS operating capacity available locally.

Ben Bradshaw: Procurement of the national Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTC) programme is being conducted in compliance with European Union procurement law. There was no bar on any organisation expressing an interest in the notice placed in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) in 2005 in relation to the national Phase 2 ISTC programme procurement. There is a robust process to ensure there is local support and a capacity need for each individual elective ISTC.
	With regard to consultation, primary care trusts are expected to comply with their legal obligations under the Health and Social Care Act 2001.

Health Services: Private Sector

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effects of independent sector treatment centres on NHS staff training and development.

Ben Bradshaw: Independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs) will provide new training opportunities for staff. The long-term aim is for ISTCs to both source and employ professionals and support staff, while retaining opportunities for national health service employees to have access to employment and secondment opportunities to further develop their skills and experience.

Health: Nutrition

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished in-year admission episodes where undernutrition is recorded as a  (a) primary and  (b) secondary diagnosis there were in (i) England and (ii) each primary care trust area in each year since 1997-98.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Home Care Services: Oxygen

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by  (a) his Department and  (b) each health trust on each type of prescribed domiciliary oxygen therapy in each of the last 10 years.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is only available for 2006-07 and I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 23 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 813-15W.

Hospices: Finance

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of funding is being provided by the NHS to  (a) adult hospices and  (b) children's hospices in Sussex in 2007-08.

Ivan Lewis: This information is not collected centrally.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for commissioning and funding palliative care services locally. The level of funding a hospice receives is a matter for local negotiation between the PCT and the hospice. It is for PCTs to determine how to use the funding allocated to them and to commission services to meet the health care needs of their local population.
	However, under the Dignity in Care for Older People campaign, special one-off capital grants were awarded to a number of adult hospices to improve their physical environment. It is important to note that these were not revenue grants to support running costs.
	On 9 April 2007, six of these one-off capital grants were awarded to hospices in Sussex and are shown in the table.
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 Martletts Hospice 345,425 
			 St. Barnabas Hospice (Worthing) 446,000 
			 St. Catherine's Specialist Palliative Care Centre 183,560 
			 St. Michael's Hospice (Hastings) 383,920 
			 St. Peter and St. James Hospice 278,950 
			 St. Wilfrid's Hospice 424,600 
			 Total for Sussex 2,062,455

Hospitals: Private Sector

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effects of independent sector treatment centres on the economics of NHS acute hospitals in their areas.

Ben Bradshaw: As part of the planning and subsequent approvals process for any independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) scheme, an assessment is made of the likely impact of the scheme on the local health care economy.
	ISTCs will only be introduced in health economies in which the strategic health authority supports the case for them, and is committed to managing the capacity and financial consequences of ISTC implementation, particularly any impacts on existing national health service providers of elective care.

Incontinence: Children

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of provision there is for continence services for children in  (a) Essex,  (b) the East of England and  (c) England.

Ivan Lewis: It is for health professionals in primary care trusts to commission appropriate continence services for local people, based on current and anticipated needs, and in consultation with stakeholders. In commissioning these services, professionals are expected to have regard to the recommendations outlined in "Good Practice in Continence Services".

Midwives: Training

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1926W, on midwives: training, if he will make it his policy to collect data on the number of students who qualify as midwives each year; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Collecting data on the number of health care graduates including those in midwifery is challenging and complex, as a result the Department has historically not collected this information.
	However, the Department continues to improve its data sources in estimating the number of midwifery graduates in a given year. This includes analysing data from the Nursing and Midwifery Council, work force review team and the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
	Since 1997, the number of midwives employed in the NHS has increased by 2,084 (9 per cent.) from 22,385 to 24,469 (in 2006).

Motor Neurone Disease: Research

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds the Government provided for research into motor neurone disease in each year since 2005; and what funds have been allocated for each year to 2010.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) spent £2.8 million on research into motor neurone disease in 2005-06. Total spend on neurological research in 2005-06 was around £80 million. The amount MRC will allocate in the future will depend on the number and scientific quality of applications received.
	Research active organisations in the national health service, funded through the Department of Health's research and development budget, also support research into motor neurone disease. The Department of Health does not collect details of expenditure by these organisations on research into particular disease areas. Details of individual projects supported in the NHS can be found on the national research register at http://www.dh.gov.uk/research. Their overall reported spend on neurological conditions in 2005-06 was £26 million, and in 2006-07 was £28 million.
	The Department of Health has also established and is funding a dementias and neurodegenerative disease research network that gives patients from every motor neurone disease clinic in England the opportunity to take part in national clinical trials.

Musculoskeletal Disorders: Sick Leave

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his officials have had with the Department of Work and Pensions on arthritis and other musculoskeletal problems as a cause of long-term sick leave.

Ivan Lewis: There has been no specific discussion on arthritis and other musculoskeletal problems but the Department of Health, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Health and Safety Executive are working together on the Government's Health, Work and Well Being strategy.
	This will address all the major causes of long-term sickness including musculoskeletal problems as well as other long-term medical conditions such as arthritis.

NHS: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice his Department received from the Audit Commission on the impact of resource accounting and budgeting on financial management in the NHS, in addition to the Review of the NHS Financial Management and Accounting Regime, published 26 July 2006; and on what date each piece of advice was received.

Ben Bradshaw: In addition to the "Review of the NHS financial Management and Accounting Regime", the Audit Commission has published the following reports that refer to the impact of resource accounting and budgeting on the financial management of the NHS:
	"Financial Management in the NHS—NHS (England) Summarised Accounts 2004-05" published on 8 June 2006;
	"Learning the lessons from financial failure in the NHS" published on 11 July 2006.

NHS: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date the decision was taken to make changes to the resource accounting and budgeting system for the NHS announced in March 2007.

Ben Bradshaw: The Audit Commission published its "Review of the NHS Financial Management and Accounting Regime" on 26 July 2006.
	The departmental publication "The NHS in England: the operating framework for 2007/08" published on 11 December 2006 stated that although the Department accepted the rationale behind the Audit Commission's recommendations on resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) it could not commit to implementation at that stage.
	Before the final decision could be made we needed to be sure that national health service trusts had the financial discipline to operate outside the stringent RAB rules relating to income deductions following deficits. The improving financial position reported in "NHS Financial Performance Quarter 3" published on 20 February 2007 coupled with new tighter cash controls gave us the confidence that the changes could be made.
	The final decisions were made in the period leading up to the announcement on 28 March 2007.

NHS: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what preparations his Department made for the introduction of the resource accounting and budgeting system in NHS trusts.

Ben Bradshaw: Guidance on the introduction of resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) was issued to the national health service during 2000. This was consolidated in "A guide to resource accounting and budgeting" issued by the Department's Finance Directorate in February 2001. Copies of this document have been placed in the Library. It can also be found on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Organisationpolicy/Financeandplanning/Allocations/DH_4000346
	Subsequent changes to financial rules for national health service trusts, including those relating to RAB, have been communicated to the NHS through a number of sources including the finance manual and manual for accounts.

NHS: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  who the members are of the Steering Group set up by his Department to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the Audit Commission's review of NHS financial management;
	(2)  on which dates the Steering Group set up by his Department to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the Audit Commission's review of NHS financial management  (a) has met and  (b) plans to meet.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has established a steering group to oversee the implementation of the recommendations made in the Audit Commission Review of the Financial Management and Accounting Regime in the National Health Service. The group held its inaugural meeting on 23 March 2007, to which the following representatives of the Department, Audit Commission, Treasury and NHS were invited:
	Richard Douglas—Director General of Finance and Investment, Department of Health
	Bill McCarthy—Director General of Policy and Strategy, Department of Health
	Martin Foulds—NHS Financial Controller, Department of Health
	Alastair MacLellan—Group Financial Controller, Department of Health
	Andrew Stubbings—Head of Capital and Programme Investment, Department of Health
	Andrew Laycock—Financial Head of Business Management, Department of Health
	John Hall—Head of Health Team, HM Treasury
	Andy McKeon—Managing Director Health, Audit Commission
	Anna Simons—Private Finance Practice Leader, National Audit Office
	Stephen Hay—Chief Operating Officer, Monitor
	Peter Shanahan—Finance Director, West Midlands Strategic Health Authority
	Colin Gentile—Finance Director, St. George's NHS Trust, London
	Alison Tonge—Finance Director and Deputy Chief Executive, Stockport PCT
	Kevin Orford—Finance Director and Deputy Chief Executive, East Midlands SHA
	Since that meeting, the group has continued discussions by correspondence. The future meeting structure is currently being reviewed in light of changes to responsibilities within the Department.

NHS: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the budget of the NHS was reprofiled over the years covered by the 2004 Spending Review to reflect the reprofiling of his Department's budget over the same period.

Ben Bradshaw: The allocation of resources to primary care trusts (PCTs) have not been revised. PCT allocations for 2006-07 and 2007-08 were made in February 2005, and for 2005-06 were made in December 2002.

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what ex gratia payments the outgoing chief executive of Connecting for Health will receive.

Ben Bradshaw: There are no plans to make any ex gratia payments to the Director General of NHS Connecting for Health.

NHS: Manpower

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the framework document, Securing and retaining staff for health and social care, in assisting NHS trusts in the redeployment and recruitment of staff.

Ben Bradshaw: NHS Employers' framework "Securing and retaining staff for health and social care—a partnership approach" sets out best practice to support local national health service employers to minimise the need to declare staff redundant.
	NHS Employers will continue to review the programme of activities.

NHS: Procurement

Dai Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1929W, on NHS procurement, what mechanisms he plans to set up for patient groups and other stakeholders to make representations directly to NHS supply chain products councils.

Ben Bradshaw: These representations would need to be made in writing to NHS Supply Chain's Product Council Co-ordinator.

NHS: Procurement

Dai Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 372W, on NHS procurement, under what circumstances the NHS supply chain products councils would raise with NHS Business Services Agency (Supply Chain Management Division) requests for new products to be added to the lists of items to be supplied.

Ben Bradshaw: NHS Supply Chain can contract for any product within all of the product categories currently in-scope and include them in their offer.
	Any requests to add new product categories must be made to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) who would request NHS supply chain submit a proposal. The NHS BSA would consider the benefits to the national health service of including the new product category and would liaise with all relevant stakeholders including the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and the Department prior to approving or denying any request.

NHS: Procurement

Dai Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms  (a) his Department and  (b) the NHS Supply Chain have in place to allow patients, clinicians and other stakeholders to appeal against decisions made by the NHS Supply Chain.

Ben Bradshaw: NHS Supply Chain is governed by European Union procurement regulations and complaints can be made directly to the NHS Supply Chain should they be dissatisfied with selection or any other activity which forms part of the tender process.
	Any appeal against a decision or issue can be escalated to the NHS Business Services Authority Supply Chain Management Division for resolution.

Nutrition

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dieticians were employed in each NHS trust in each of the last 10 years.

Ben Bradshaw: This information has been placed in the Library.

Orthopaedics: Health Services

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of capacity in orthopaedic services to meet the 18 week target;
	(2)  what representations he has received on the impact of the 18 week target on the standard of orthopaedic treatment provided to patients.

Ben Bradshaw: The British Orthopaedic Association and others are represented on the 18 weeks clinical advisory group which is developing advice to help local areas deliver high quality, safe treatment within 18 weeks for the most common conditions, including orthopaedics.
	On capacity, the Department is satisfied with the assurance of strategic health authorities that local health services are planning adequate orthopaedic activity to make the necessary progress in 2007-08 towards the 18 weeks target.

Patients: Nutrition

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people  (a) admitted to and  (b) discharged from hospital were malnourished (i) in total and (ii) per 100,000 (A) for all ages and (B) broken down by age group in each year since 1997-98.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is shown in the following table for years where the information is available. It is not possible to provide information about the number of people discharged from hospital who were malnourished because it would be misleading to present the admissions/discharges per 100,000 of the English population when a proportion of these will represent people not resident in England.
	
		
			  Count of finished in-year admission and discharge episodes where there was a primary or secondary diagnosis of malnutrition by age groups in NHS hospitals in England 
			  Age groups  Finished in-year admission episodes  In-year discharge episodes 
			  2000-01   
			 0-4 35 35 
			 5-14 17 17 
			 15-24 42 44 
			 25-34 93 95 
			 35-44 135 151 
			 45-54 143 158 
			 55-64 140 161 
			 65-74 194 213 
			 75-84 237 285 
			 85-120 187 221 
			 Age not known 1 1 
			 Total 1,224 1,381 
			
			  2001-02   
			 0-4 24 26 
			 5-14 45 46 
			 15-24 61 62 
			 25-34 96 98 
			 35-44 116 124 
			 45-54 158 168 
			 55-64 136 170 
			 65-74 201 220 
			 75-84 294 352 
			 85-120 216 235 
			 Age not known 15 16 
			 Total 1,362 1,517 
			
			  2002-03   
			 0-4 36 36 
			 5-14 44 45 
			 15-24 72 75 
			 25-34 108 115 
			 35-44 141 158 
			 45-54 201 211 
			 55-64 205 237 
			 65-74 205 241 
			 75-84 281 340 
			 85-120 231 256 
			 Age not known 4 5 
			 Total 1,528 1,719 
			
			  2003-04   
			 0-4 38 38 
			 5-14 33 33 
			 15-24 66 69 
			 25-34 135 141 
			 35-44 149 168 
			 45-54 185 215 
			 55-64 185 192 
			 65-74 226 258 
			 75-84 331 394 
			 85-120 247 302 
			 Age not known 7 8 
			 Total 1,602 1,818 
			
			  2004-05   
			 0-4 38 41 
			 5-14 32 31 
			 15-24 89 92 
			 25-34 105 120 
			 35-44 188 202 
			 45-54 214 229 
			 55-64 245 267 
			 65-74 246 280 
			 75-84 345 408 
			 85-120 287 334 
			 Age not known 2 2 
			 Total 1,791 2,006 
			
			  2005-06   
			 0-4 38 39 
			 5-14 39 39 
			 15-24 106 118 
			 25-34 122 133 
			 35-44 224 251 
			 45-54 240 267 
			 55-64 312 341 
			 65-74 286 342 
			 75-84 342 423 
			 85-120 232 308 
			 Age not known 3 4 
			 Total 1,944 2,265 
			  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics.

Patients: Nutrition

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) primary care trusts and  (b) NHS trusts which routinely use nationally validated malnutrition screening tools for patients who present to health services;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of levels of adherence by  (a) NHS organisations and  (b) general practice surgeries to section 1.14.2.2 of the guidance issued on 22 February 2006 by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on nutritional support in adults, to screen for malnutrition (i) all hospital inpatients on admission, (ii) all outpatients on first attendance and (iii) all people on initial registration at general practice surgeries;
	(3)  what steps he is taking to encourage the use of malnutrition screening tools in healthcare settings.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not monitor the use of malnutrition screening tools centrally.
	National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence clinical guidelines are classified as developmental standards in the national health service quality standards framework "Standards for Better Health". NHS organisations are expected to take full account of them in developing services, but the pace of implementation will vary according to local circumstances and priorities.
	Core Standard C15b of the "Standards for Better Healthcare", assessed by the Healthcare Commission, includes a requirement that, among other things,
	"The healthcare organisation should ensure that the nutritional status of patients is assessed at appropriate points in their care, for example, upon admission to hospital."
	The National Patient Safety Agency, who have responsibility for supporting the implementation of policy on hospital food and nutrition, are actively promoting the comprehensive screening of patients on admission to hospital.

Patients: Nutrition

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the number of bed days occupied by patients in a year as a consequence of undernourishment.

Dawn Primarolo: According to the Hospital Episode Statistics, the count of bed days during 2005-06 for finished episodes where the primary diagnosis was malnutrition in national health service hospitals in England was 6,083.

Schools: Travel

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many travel advisers have been recruited for schools.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have funded local authorities to ensure that adequate school travel adviser provision is in place. We do not collect information about the number of school travel advisers recruited by local authorities.

Tuberculosis: Vaccination

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to reduce the gap between the funding required for the research and development of the new tuberculosis vaccine and the funding available to it.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	Research on new TB vaccines is being undertaken in a number of countries by a range of different research groups. In the UK, the Medical Research Council (MRC) spend on TB vaccines in 2005-06 was £1.9 million (four projects). It also provided funding of £0.4 million for four underpinning projects.